About Us
Canadians see a primary care provider at multiple points in life: from well-baby visits to end-of-life planning. A primary care provider could be a family physician, nurse practitioner, or other trained health professional and are generally the first called when people have a health concern.
Research has shown the strongest clinical evidence for improving health outcomes in the population is by strengthening primary care. When people have access to strong primary care, they can address a health concern before it leads to a trip to the hospital. So, not only does primary care keep people healthy, it saves health care dollars.
The David Braley Primary Care Research Collaborative (PCRC) was launched in September 2020 to further advance research to strengthen primary care systems through a $4 million investment — seeded by a $1 million contribution by David Braley. This collaborative is the first of its kind in Canada, with the largest endowment supporting a research collaborative in primary care.
The PCRC is bringing together researchers, clinicians, educators and partners to work on issues that will address the diverse needs of our community. We are focused on:
- Building research capacity throughout primary care
- Developing networks of experts, mentors and trainees
- Contributing new evidence to the field of primary care research
- Sharing and implementing knowledge when and where it is needed
- Influencing policy change to improve the health of our communities
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We’re building capacity
Resources for growing your primary care research practice.
We’re leading change
Learn more about a few of the ways our collaborative is changing primary care.
We’re creating a network of experts
Learn about some of the experts in our network and their research.
Our Research
Researchers, clinicians and staff in the department are engaged in practice-based research focused on building innovative systems of primary care using mixed methods, qualitative, and quantitative research designs. The team is working on initiatives to enhance the care that people receive, to improve access to health care particularly for people in greatest need and to change the way the next generation of clinicians are trained.
We embrace a culture of evidence-informed primary care by working to discover new knowledge and creating new ways to improve the health care patients receive — so that they may enjoy a life worth living on their terms.
Our research, which has informed the development of innovative systems of care and contributed knowledge leading to improved health outcomes, is regularly recognized with local, provincial, national and international awards for excellence.
Learn about our innovative research programs and projects.
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$40 million dollars of research funding in the past ten years
Research clusters
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Shaping Policy
Policies are an influential element shaping health care delivery. We aim to shape policy through our research and consider the ethical and social implications of health policies to ensure the delivery of sensitive and responsive care.
Developing Primary Care Clinicians
The education and development of clinician trainees is an important part of DFM work and several faculty members are involved in researching how to do this more effectively. Research considers the development of the practicing primary care clinician, drawing attention to how they navigate difficult circumstances, enhance their skillset, and keep up to date.
Integrating Care into the Community across the Lifespan
We have a focus with delivering care to patients where they need it most, which is often in the community. This might mean meeting patients where they are, whether this is elderly people at home, in subsidised housing or in places of incarceration.
Matching Burden of Care with Capacity to Benefit
Established health system practices may not be the best use of resources for patients or for the system. Many of our researchers are considering scenarios that see a potentially high burden of care for a relatively low treatment benefit e.g., overdiagnosis, multimorbidity.
Cross-cutting values
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Person-focused
Patient, family, and primary care clinician are the ‘person’ at the centre of the work we do, with particular attention to patient priorities and preferences in clinical care.
Data-informed
Data is important in describing, understanding and shaping practice patterns, the training of clinicians, and identifying places for improving efficiency, efficacy or safety of care.
Health equity-enhancing
Our researchers work to understand and alleviate health inequities experienced by many different types of equity-seeking groups, including racialized and Indigenous populations, gender-diverse and queer populations.
Research News
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Ontario Medical School Outcomes Research Collaborative
Research Project Update
Enhancing community-based health assessment, education, and promotion
Research Project Update, VIP Lab
Evaluating bias in medical school admissions tools
Research Project Update
“They forgot about us”: Experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among people deprived of housing in an urban centre in Ontario, Canada
Care of PDOH, Research Project Update
Data champions in medical education research
Research Project Update
Professor helps combat Niagara opioid crisis
News, Research
Improving health systems for vulnerable populations from a primary care perspective
Research Project Update, VIP Lab
Research Supports and Funding
Research at the Department of Family Medicine is a broad (and growing) area of focus. To help research projects initiate, expand and share knowledge, we provide a number of resources that have been designed to help our faculty, our staff and the broader primary care research community.
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Pilot Research Project Funding Learn More
The departments funds pilot projects (maximum $5,000 each) for faculty members to conduct research in primary care, palliative care and medical education.
Research Knowledge and Skill Builder Sessions Learn More
We offer monthly in-services to continue to build the research capacity of faculty and staff across the department.
TRAction: A Toolkit for Research in Action Learn More
A curated collection of resources mapped to the steps of the research process from project design to implementation and knowledge translation.
Research Advice Café
Senior researchers offer mentorship to faculty members who are less experienced in research, providing advice and support to develop their research idea. Email pcrc@mcmaster.ca to connect.
Research Infrastructure Learn More
People are at the heart of our research. The Department of Family Medicine and the David Braley Primary Care Research Collaborative have made strategic investments to build a highly skilled staffing infrastructure to support and promote innovative primary care research.
Health Sciences Library Learn More
Additional research supports are available through the Health Sciences Library for access to books, journals and e-resources and consultations with a librarian for literature search and review.
Research Infrastructure
Our department is supported by a centralized group of research staff who help conduct efficient, effective and high-quality research projects. Together, we build capacity across projects and teams through knowledge and resource sharing.
Watch the video to learn more about how we can help support your research through all stages of project administration, ethical review, recruitment, data collection, analysis and knowledge translation.
People Listing
Erin Beaulieu
RD, MPH
Manager, Knowledge Translation and Strategic Communications
Bethany Elliott
BHSc, MPH
Administrative Director, David Braley Primary Care Research Collaborative