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https://www.napcrg.orgMission NAPCRG is an interdisciplinary volunteer association committed to nurturing primary care researchers working in partnership with individuals, families, and communities. Vision NAPCRG is the recognized leader of primary care research that improves health and health care for patients, families, and communities. Members Total 9,284 USA 52.2% Canada 31.4% Other nations 16.4%5 Attendees from 32 nations, 2019-2022 USA = United States of America.
Value NAPCRG Commitments NAPCRG Examples Nurturing Welcome new colleagues. Grow together. Share supportive feedback.
Appreciate that we are all learners.
Foster an international, intergenerational community.Actively foster a culture of support.7 Greet presentations with thanks.
Give honest criticism without academic grandstanding or put-downs. Provide generous mentoring.8-10Inclusion Welcome all: academics, community physicians, learners, patients, and communities—novices to experts—and appreciate what each brings. Build purposeful partnerships across disciplines and professions, including nurses, behavioral scientists, family physicians, general internists, pediatricians, epidemiologists, and others.2,11 Universality Share a vision of PC as a human right, with a commitment to care and an approach to practice that needs its own knowledge base and research enterprise. Encourage international contributions. Growth from binational group into an international organization.2,4,11,12
Major roles in developing patient-centered care, shared decision making, patient safety, and participatory research.1-3,12,13Empowerment Invest in people to build research skills and capacity. Teach basic and advanced methods. Empower successful grant writing. Authentic partnership with patients and communities. Introductory skills workshops.6,8,10
Advanced skills pre-conferences.8
Grant Generating Project.10,14,15
Leadership opportunities.6,8,11
Commitment to participatory research.2,4,16Engagement Encourage active participation. Open leadership opportunities. Build teams and recognize the contributions of all members. Create structured involvement for learners, patients, and community partners. NAPCRG’s early structure was flat, with decisions voted on by all who attended the annual meeting.7
Patient and Clinician Engagement Program (PaCE).17,18
Any group can start Special Interest Group and programs around any shared interest.Innovation Develop new knowledge to improve patient care, practice systems, and the health of individuals, families, and communities. Learn, adopt, and adapt from colleagues, disciplines, and traditions. Develop new methods and measures. Dr Wood and founders were visionaries, recognizing the need for methods and structures to build PC science to inform PC practice, separate from reductionist science focused on hospitals, diseases, and organs.2,3,7
Pioneered PC classification systems,2,3,19,20 PBRNs,21,22 PaCE,17,18 multi-method research,23 complexity science.Respect Respect the intent, opinions, experience, and ideas of others. Value the lived experience and wisdom of practitioners, patients, communities, and cultures. Respectful treatment of all participants regardless of seniority or role.1,7,8
Responsible research with communities: participatory research in primary care.24,25
“Nothing about us without us.”Advocacy Lead advocacy to ensure that PC research grows as a force in medical sciences. Fight for structures and funding to build the knowledge needed to address unanswered questions and empower PC clinicians to provide evidence-based care. Active partnerships with national PC organizations and research funders. Staff lobbyist focused on building infra-structure, workforce, and support for PC research.11,26,27
Active voice in the family of family medicine worldwide.6,26,28,29
Advocated for: PC center within AHRQ, community engagement as part of NIH CTSA awards, Implementation PC of NASEM PC report,30 CBPHC initiative at the CIHR.11,26AHRQ = Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CBPHC = community-based primary health care; CIHR = Canadian Institutes of Health Research; CTSA = Clinical and Translational Science Award; NASEM = National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; NIH = National Institutes of Health; PaCE = Patient and Clinician Engagement Program; PBRN = practice-based research network; PC = primary care.
ICPC: International Classification of Primary Care, 198719,20 Responsible Research with Communities: Participatory Research in Primary Care, 199833 Engaging with Communities, Engaging with Patients: Amendment to the NAPCRG 1998 Policy Statement on Ethical Research with Communities, 201534 Future of Family Medicine: Collaborative Project of the Family Medicine Community, 200438 Banff Declaration: Information Needs of PC and Family Medicine in the USA, 200339 Cancun Manifesto: Supporting Health Reform in Mexico, 201540,41 Revitalizing Generalist Practice: The Montreal Statement, 201742 “Research can be slow and lonely, but NAPCRG always inspires me to continue my work. It helps me build new international connections and collaborations. Research is a team game, and relationships are key to success. Whenever I face a challenge, I can always reach out for support and reflect on that real NAPCRG feeling.” – Tim olde Hartman. Academic general practitioner. The Netherlands “Patients want good care and good research to improve their care. Communities want primary care embedded within them. It is this greater partnership that should begin to define the work of primary care research. Patients and communities should be advocating for primary care. This is where I see NAPCRG’s power. Please keep engaging the non-usual suspects in this work.” – Maret Felzien. Farmer, educator, community partner. Colorado “I am here as one of a generation of millions of Americans born to immigrants that moved to the United States from developing countries. Like many, I have spent my life translating, advocating, and navigating the health care system for my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It took me 4 years to find my mother’s diagnosis of a life-changing disease. Those life experiences led me to my work in primary care clinics, helping adolescents learn to manage their diabetes, young women find the freedom to access reproductive care, and hundreds to access behavioral health, social services, and health care. Thank you, NAPCRG. I get to stand up as a patient and community member, representing a voice of people underrepresented in health care. I am a young person of color, mostly healthy. I am not a health care provider, and I have no PhD. I don’t usually call myself a researcher, but now at my 6th NAPCRG meeting, I can happily say I am a researcher, thanks to this organization.” – Arturo Martinez-Guijosa. Community health advocate. Seattle, Washington Publication aBrown JB, Westfall J, Harper D, Green LA. NAPCRG 50th anniversary – a year-long celebration.1 Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(2):191-192. 10.1370/afm.2804 aChisholm A, Gilfoyle M, Kueper JK, Marzolf B, Wang J, Gebauer S. 50 Years of NAPCRG: A nurturing home for primary care researchers.8 Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(6):583-584. 10.1370/afm.2914 Chisholm A, Wang J, Bonnell LN, Duwe E, Gilfoyle M, Kueper JK, et al. From NAPCRG: primary care research through the lens of NAPCRG’s trainee committee: a year of reflection in a pandemic and a call to action. Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(1):98-99.45 10.1370/afm.2778 Green L, Bartlett G. The North American Primary Care Research Group strong at 50 years: the past, present, and future of primary care research. Fam Pract. 2022;39(5):980-981.2 10.1093/fampra/cmac085 aHarper DM, Ramsden VR. The Canadian/United States primary care research partnership. Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(3):283-284.11 10.1370/afm.2838 aLee ES, Kaneko M, Kusaba T. Asian perspectives on NAPCRG. Fam Med Com Health. 2022;10:e001930.29 10.1136/fmch-2022-001930 aLiaw W, Wong ST. Supporting the primary care research infrastructure through advocacy: a reflection from the NAPCRG research advocacy committee. Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(5):488-490.26 10.1370/afm.2877 Mainous III AG, Brungardt SH., Celebrating 50 Years of NAPCRG: The successful partnership between STFM and NAPCRG. Fam Med. 2022;54(10):767-8.27 10.22454/FamMed.2022.807469 aMason K, Martinez-Guijosa A. NAPCRG patient and clinician engagement: from idea to program to board membership. Ann Fam Med. 2022;20(4):386.17 10.1370/afm.2853 aOfei-Dodoo S. My Experiences with the North American Primary Care Research Group: A reflection from an emerging primary care researcher. J. Am Board Fam Med. 2022;35:872-873.10 10.3122/jabfm.2022.04.220154 aolde Hartman T, Blane DN, Sturgiss E, Boeckxstaens P, Hunik L. International reflections on NAPCRG: Celebrating 50 years of learning and connecting. Fam Med Com Health. 2022; 10:e001880.6 10.1136/fmch-2022-001880 Phillips WR. The soul of NAPCRG lies north of the 49th parallel. eLetter on: Ramsden VR, Bighead S, Rabbitskin N. Fiftieth Anniversary of NAPCRG - Canadian contributions and personal reflections. Can Fam Physician. 2022;68(9):641-642.13 10.46747/cfp.6809641 https://www.cfp.ca/content/68/9/641/tab-e-letters Phillips WR. NAPCRG nurtures primary care research and researchers Fam Med Com Health.9 2022;10:e001979. 10.1136/fmch-2022-001979 Pimlott N. Interview with Vivian R. Ramsden. A vision for the development of primary care research. [Canadian Family Physician podcast]. Sep 19, 2022. Accessed Feb 12, 2023.48 https://cfppodcast.libsyn.com/a-vision-for-the-development-of-primary-care-research aRamsden VR, Bighead S, Rabbitskin N. Fiftieth anniversary of NAPCRG. Canadian contributions and personal reflections. Can Fam Physician. 2022;68(9):641-642.4 10.46747/cfp.6809641 avan Weel C. Touching Wood with NAPCRG’s 50th anniversary. Fam Pract. 2022;39(5):978-979.28 10.1093/fampra/cmac031 ↵a Articles invited by the NAPCRG 50th Anniversary Committee.
