Beyond “motherhood and apple pie”: using research evidence to inform primary health care policy

The Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute undertakes and commissions research with the aim of increasing the links between research and policy

“Family, neighborhood, community are apple pie virtues, unassailable and unavoidable in political rhetoric.”1 In primary health care, we have our own rhetoric. The challenges facing the primary health care system are endlessly rehearsed: ageing of the population, management of chronic disease, equity, new technologies and workforce issues are but a few. These challenges are not unique to Australia — they drive reform of primary health care around the world. It is agreed that the goal of this reform is to improve health for individuals and communities, and that public policy on this reform should be in the public good, have clear objectives, be transparently communicated, and be assessable in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and achievements. It should also be informed by research evidence.2,3