Community-based research: a catalyst for transforming primary health care rhetoric into practice

Abstract

The Canadian health care system is under increased pressure to reform. While some advocates lobby for more physicians and more resources to fix the ailing system, many reports point to another potential solution – implementing primary health care (PHC). Implementing PHC will not be easy. Even though there is substantial evidence to support the efficacy and cost effectiveness of PHC, its implementation will require substantial changes in practice. Community-based research (CBR) has the potential to be the catalyst for the type of change that is required. A multidisciplinary, multisectoral inquiry team has been funded to use CBR to reconceptualize and transform PHC service delivery in British Columbia, Canada. Although the research project is in its initial phase, it is anticipated that the research will provide new, holistic, and comprehensive frameworks for practice. This paper describes the process used to bring about these changes.