Infrastructure
National Family Medicine Strategic Plan for Research
Suggested Reading
Building strong family medicine research infrastructure is a strategic priority that goes beyond funding and publication counts. A key approach is to build on existing community-engaged work, recognizing that impactful research often starts small and grows over time. As one leader observed, “research is a part of family medicine’s ‘DNA’ as a discipline” (Etz et al., 2024). Departments already have the foundation to expand their scholarly work. The below articles from the JABFM Special Issue offer practical examples and tools to support a mission-driven research culture.
Practice Based Research Networks (PBRNs), grounded in clinical and educational community ties, act as essential spaces for engagement, connecting academic research with real-world practice and enabling funded studies (Westfall et al., 2024).
Federal programs like the Clinical and Translational Science Award and Clinical and Translational Research Award support infrastructure through resources, mentorship, and implementation assistance (Bennett et al., 2024).
New data resources such as the NIH All of Us program, the PRIME Registry, and the American Family Cohort help researchers conduct large scale studies to improve equity and outcomes in underserved communities. The All of Us database, for example, allows family medicine to “utilize a repository of clinical data to answer key questions in primary care” (DeVoe et al., 2024).
Tools like the Productivity And Capacity Evaluation in Research (PACER) help measure and grow research capacity (Carek et al., 2024).
We urge departments, deans, and chairs to invest in infrastructure by engaging with communities, strengthening PBRNs, using national networks and large datasets, and applying tools to build capacity—ensuring family medicine advances its vital research mission.
Practice-Based Research Networks: Asphalt on the Blue Highways of Primary Care Research
Every Day I Write the Book: Transforming EHR Data from Daily Practice into New Knowledge
Leveraging the All of Us Database for Primary Care Research with Large Datasets
Measuring Research Capacity: Development of the PACER Tool
Experiencing food insecurity is associated with Vitamin B12 deficiency in All of Us participants
Answering 100 Most Important FM Questions
Lack of Investment in US Family Medicine Research
Although it is the largest funder of biomedical research, the National Institute of Health, spent only 0.2% of its budget in 2021 on family medicine research.4 Despite being the largest specialty in the US Health system, primary care investment pales in comparison to other developed nations.5 This underinvestment impacts clinical care.6
Find Open Program US Funding Opportunities
What is the Clinical and Translational Science Institute?
The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) funds The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) through the National Institute for Health (NIH) and supports a national network of medical institutions that speeds the translation of research discoveries into improved care. This program nurtures the field of translational science through education, training, and support.
For questions and updates on the strategic plan, please reach out to Shannon Robinson (srobinson@napcrg.org).