Research in private pediatric practice and the challenge of network research

摘要

Although most children receive their primary care in private physicians' offices, surprisingly little of the child health knowledge base has been generated from office settings. Research in practice settings is increasing, however, especially through networks of office-based pediatricians who are now collaborating with academic researchers to produce high-quality research on primary pediatric care. This paper provides a current overview of practice-based research in pediatrics, highlights contributions by regional and national pediatric research networks, and suggests directions for practice-based research in the future.