Editorial: Reflections on Research Impact in Primary Health Care

Abstract

The primary health sector has had a long-standing interest in evidence-based practice. Two decades ago the focus was on a primary health care equivalent of evidence-based medicine described by Hennen (1992, p. ix) as "self-criticism in primary care practice through research" or by Ovretveit (1998, p. 266) as "the use of best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The focus was on clinical interventions and their effects, or lack thereof. Furthermore, the aspiration to systematically use evidence in the provision of care was a central part of the quality movement in both clinical care and health service management (Ovretveit, 1992). More recently, evidence-based practice has been advancing in health services management and policy (Lin & Gibson, 2003).