Advancing knowledge translation in primary care.

Across Canada, efforts are under way to strengthen primary health care (PHC), from the Divisions of Family Practice in British Columbia and family health teams in Ontario to family medicine groups in Quebec and collaborative family physician–nurse practitioner teams in Nova Scotia. Much work is needed though, as international comparisons suggest that Canada lags behind other developed nations in PHC performance and infrastructure.1,2 Canada’s historical lack of investment in PHC research, particularly in the domain of family medicine, has contributed to the current predicament.3 Compared with other health care disciplines, the past decade has seen a disproportionately low level of funding earmarked for family medicine research and few programs providing family physicians with advanced research training.3 In response, Canada’s premier health research agency, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), has recently committed to helping Canada become an international leader in the generation and translation of high-quality PHC research by 2020.4 In line with this commitment, CIHR hosted a Summer Institute on Primary Health Care Research for Canadian research trainees in June 2010. The Summer Institute’s theme was chosen by CIHR, which then nominated a leader to help organize the meeting. This leader, Dr Peter Norton, created a Steering Committee consisting of 4 other senior PHC researchers (Drs Earl Dunn, Moira Stewart, Rick Glazier, and Fred Tudiver) who together established the meeting’s objectives and design (Box 1). The result was a 4-day capacitybuilding initiative that brought together 30 trainees and 13 faculty leaders to focus on the next frontiers in PHC research. Trainees were graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinician scientists (eg, family physi-cians, nurses, pharmacists), representing a range of disciplines and institutions. Faculty were distinguished researchers in the PHC field and led plenary sessions, directed animated group activities and discussions, and mentored trainees throughout the meeting. Plenary sessions were interactive and allowed trainees and faculty to address many conceptual, methodologic, ethical, and practical issues relevant to PHC research. At the forefront during the Summer Institute was the importance of translating research knowledge to improve primary care practice. The CIHR has defined knowledge translation (KT) as a dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange and ethically-sound application of knowledge to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products and strengthen the health care system.5