The North American Primary Care Research Group is proposing to promote, convene, coordinate, manage, evaluate and disseminate the results of the 8th annual national meeting of the Practice-Based Research Networks to be held in the summer of 2012. With the guidance of a Principal Investigator and Steering Committee experienced with PBRNs and prior conferences, NAPCRG staff skilled in conference management will select plenary speakers and employ a call for abstracts to select papers, panel discussions, workshops and poster sessions that will enhance the research capacity of PBRNs. The conference will address not only the science of research and operation of the PBRNs but also provide for presentation of studies focusing on practice improvement, behavioral health, diagnosis and treatment issues encountered in primary care practice, and the efficacy of interventions and prevention modalities. NAPCRG will provide all conference administrative services-including coordination of the Steering Committee, a call for abstracts and selection of presentations, conference logistics and onsite management (including provision of a flash drive with conference schedule, abstracts and listing of attendees), conference promotion and registration, continuing education accreditation for conference attendees, conference evaluation, and dissemination of conference summaries and presentations. For PBRNs to thrive and continue to focus on the research important to our communities and practices and advance the state of primary care delivery, this conference grant will provide an opportunity for conference participants to share their skills, knowledge, and outcomes. The annual meeting of the PBRNs convened for the past seven years has proven to be of assistance to the PBRN community in sharing research methodologies and results, operational strategies and concerns, and research outcomes. Attendees will include a diverse mix of stakeholders involved in PBRN research including academicians, researchers of all health professional disciplines and geographic locations, policy makers, practicing clinicians, and other health professionals involved in PBRN research and operations. Conference outcomes will be disseminated to conference attendees as well as those unable to attend through publication of papers and a summary in peer-reviewed journals, web postings, email communications, and social networking sites. In addition, NAPCRG will record podcasts of select papers and post the podcasts to its website and invite links to the podcasts from other organization websites, including the Primary Care Resource Center.
The purpose of the proposed national Practice-Based Research Network conference is to enhance the skills and knowledge of U.S. clinicians and researchers in evidence-based research in order to improve the health of the U.S. population and the quality of the health care they receive. Support for PBRNs assists AHRQ's mission to link research with clinical practice -especially primary care practice-by providing opportunity for necessary conversations among conference attendees to share research design, innovations and results and ultimately improve the delivery of primary health care.
