Libby Kalucy & Belinda Lowcay, PHC RIS
PHC RIS has received the final GPEP Final Report (the summary of GPEP 825 was published in the October 2005 issue of PHC RIS infonet).
GPEP funded research has provided valuable information about general practice in Australia, in particular: economic analysis, the development of new ways of organising the delivery of care and specific program evaluations. PHCRED funded research builds on many of the findings of GPEP research. The existence of the GPEP database on http://www.phcris.org.au makes it easy to access these findings. This was developed by the National Information Service at the instigation of Professor Chris Silagy, to capture and record every project to assist current and future researchers and research users. In recent years PHC RIS has added references to all related journal articles that we have been able to identify - we are keen to update these as authors bring them to our attention. PHC RIS has the full reports of each GPEP project to provide on request.
GPEP also made a very significant contribution to building research capacity in primary health care research. Many GP research careers have been launched or enhanced through GPEP funding of research and training awards such as Scholarships and Fellowships, as well as the project and program grants.
GPEP Investigators were funded to attend annual GPEP meetings to present their work in progress, and in the process got to know each other and began to form a research community. These meetings have evolved into the annual GP & PHC Research Conference which is now a major event in Australian primary health care research.
The General Practice Evaluation Program (GPEP) was established in 1990, as part of the Commonwealth General Practice Strategy to evaluate changes in general practice and to determine the effects of these changes on quality and economic efficiency. In 1992, GPEP expanded its focus to evaluate research that examined the way general practice reforms have affected the Australian health care system. GPEP funded a broad range of programs by general practitioners, academics and consumers. GPEP funded 248 projects (the final round was approved in 1999), with a total of more than $12 million.
More information about the research funded by GPEP and the research shift toward PHCRED can be found in General Practice in Australia: 2005. Requests for copies and inquiries: email gpinoz@health.gov.au
PHC RIS (formerly National Information Service) publications have reported on many aspects of the GPEP body of work. These are available from http://www.phcris.org.au:
- Australian General Practice Research: Investigators' experiences of diffusion, dissemination and implementation of research results (May 03)
- The Scope of General Practice Evaluation Program Research (Sep 00)
- Decade of GPEP Projects, 1990-1999 (Apr 00)
- An Anthology of Literature Reviews by GPEP Researchers, Volume 2 (Apr 00)
- Instruments used in General Practice Research and Evaluation in General Practice (Jul 98)
- An Anthology of Literature Reviews by GPEP Researchers (Feb 98)
- Considering Quality (Nov 97)
- Profile of Completed GPEP Projects 1996-1997 (Apr 97)
- Profile of Completed GPEP Projects 1990-1995 (Nov 95)
Did GPEP funding add to your research career? Do you have specific experiences of GPEP that you would like to share with the readers of this newsletter? If so, please contact: phcris.assist@flinders.edu.au
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