EDITORIAL Research in Family/General Practice is Essential for Improving Health Globally

During the last decade of the 20 th century, there has been an increased recognition by the World Health Organization of the importance of primary care in improving the health of populations, with the medical literature providing supporting evi-dence. Under the infl uence of this growing awareness, many developed and developing countries have bol-stered the role of primary care in the organization and structure of their health care systems.1-3 Numerous uni-versities in these countries have increased the primary care focus and content of their educational programs to better address the primary care needs of the popula-tions their graduates will serve. This increasing interest in the provision of primary health care clinical service and education, however, has not been accompanied by investment in research efforts. Primary care research is the missing link in the development of high-quality, evidence-based health care for populations. Awareness of the missed potential to benefi t the health of the world’s population led to the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca), supported by a number of other agencies (see sponsors list), to underwrite an invitational conference on the future of primary care research. Under the title Improv