Self-management of chronic illnesses, depression and anxiety, should be encouraged by general practitioners to improve patient quality of life and health outcomes, according to the published results of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute’s (APHCRI) research program.

The research, commissioned by APHCRI and conducted by several teams investigating multidisciplinary teams, chronic illness and mental health, shows that self-management is under utilised, but contributes to attaining improved outcomes in a number of areas.

The Institute’s approach to research ensures that these and other findings link directly with policy advisers by ensuring the research program focuses on priorities for national primary health care policy.

Unique in Australia, the Institute provides a ‘linkage and exchange’ approach to research - bringing researchers, policy advisers and stakeholders together to make research relevant.

The model means research is informed by the needs of policy advisers and that policy advisers are aware of research and able to utilise it from the earliest stages.

The work of the Institute has attracted a great deal of international attention. Not only are international experts regularly part of research teams attached to APHCRI grants, but many leaders in primary health care research have visited the Institute.

Research to date has been conducted around Australia and includes work from eight streams of research covering a diverse number of research areas from adolescent and child health, Indigenous health to mental health, chronic disease and workforce.

See www.anu.edu.au/aphcri