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Libby Kalucy, PHC RIS
It takes knowledge and experience, planning, high standards, good relationships, sound infrastructure, goodwill and imagination to achieve optimal impact from an event like the 2006 GP & PHC Research Conference in Perth. The same ingredients are necessary to achieve optimal impact for research, government funded programs, clinical services, workforce and capacity building programs.
To optimise impact, one must intend to have an impact, really understand the constraints and connections of the system one is working in and consider the effects of change on other parts of the system, including people receiving, providing and funding primary health care.
To make a splash, like the photo on the conference poster, an object must hit the water. In research terms, this means a research question is relevant to an identified user group. A grain of sand, like a research result known to one person, makes a very small splash. A result known to all the intended users of research in a region and wider makes a larger splash with wider ripples affecting others. An example of this is the effect of Clare Heal's distinguished paper [http://www.phcris.org.au/conference/2006/plenary/heal.php]. The splash can be very great if researchers, policy makers, consumers, and practitioners work together on issues of mutual importance like the ABCDE project in the Northern Territory described by Ross Bailie [http://www.phcris.org.au/conference/2006/plenary/bailie.php].
In 2006, the GP & PHC Research Conference had sound infrastructure, with PHC RIS working closely with AAAGP and APHCRI with the strong support of the Primary Care Division of the Department of Health and Ageing. This increased the sense of unity and common purpose at this meeting to achieve better primary health care through a strong research sector linked to policy and practice. Conference delegates and speakers all contributed the essential ingredients of friendship, goodwill, imagination and enjoyment to create a conference event that will be remembered with pleasure.
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