BENEFITS OF research
Research findings help guide clinical practice with reliable evidence derived from a primary care setting.
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“Research has revolutionised my practice as a GP. Patients are offered management options not otherwise available to them. One patient quote I have never forgotten is ‘Is it fair that my GP Practice does not offer me research opportunities when I know other practices do?"'
Dr Robin Fox, GP at Bicester Health Centre
"Research helps us improve the standard of care we provide as well as allowing our patients to be more involved and better understand their illnesses"
Dr Shamila Wanninayake, GP at The Manor Surgery
A recent study (Kenning et al., 2024) found that research practice staff described ‘’potential ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ impacts (of research involvement) on their work”. The following “direct” and “indirect” impacts were found:
Direct impacts
Improved knowledge and skills
Bringing in additional resources
Improved relationships with patients
Indirect impacts
Job satisfaction: perception of practice as a centre of excellence and innovation
Variety afforded by research activity, reducing burnout
Staff recruitment – the practice is a more attractive workplace
Kenning C., Usher-Smith, J.A., Jamison, J., Jones, J., Boaz, A., Little, P., Mallen, C., Bower, P., Park, S. (2024) Impact of research activity on performance of general practices: a qualitative study. BJGP Open 8 (3): BJGPO.2024.0073. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2024.0073
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It's good for you and your career development
It's good for you and your career development
Many healthcare professionals say they find the experience of being involved in research studies positive and rewarding. Any member of the practice team can get involved. The experience of staff involved in running research studies is very encouraging, with many reporting an increase in job satisfaction and overall quality in performance.
Doctors supporting research in their practice are able to acquire Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hours for their annual appraisals, contributing to revalidation requirements. Research can stimulate future doctors and energise training GPs.
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It's good for your practice
It's good for your practice
It can be empowering for GPs and patients alike to be helping to answer important research questions that are relevant to UK general practice.
Practices have found that developing a research interest not only produces a new income stream, but leads to a novel aspect of staff development and portfolio careers. Hosting research offers more variety to clinical roles and further opportunities to build networks.
GP Trainees: GP trainees now have a quality improvement mandatory requirement as part of their training. This could be completed by being a Principal Investigator/Sub-Principal Investigator on a research study within their practice. This not only engages potential new researchers allowing them to undertake other responsibilities and have ‘portfolio’ careers, but also supports research in the practice and provides further opportunities for patients.
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It's good for your patients
It's good for your patients
See more of our Patient Testimonials.
Evidence shows that research-active trusts delivering clinical research trials and studies have better patient outcomes
Patients can access novel treatments and/or facilities, tests and enhanced monitoring
Patients value the opportunity to participate in research studies; it empowers them to understand more about their conditions and allows them to contribute to improving future healthcare
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It's valued by the CQC
It's valued by the CQC
Care Quality Commission (CQC) have already identified research activity as a quality marker in secondary care, and some primary care CQC reports highlight the value of research to patients as a demonstrable commitment to quality improvement. The CQC now has a remit to assess how trusts are supporting and using clinical research to improve patient care.
The NHS constitution states that "research is a core NHS business and every patient should be offered the opportunity to engage with research activities".
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It's part of the long term NHS plan
It's part of the long term NHS plan
A key focus is 'research and innovation to drive future outcomes and improvement'. This acknowledges that patients benefit enormously from research and innovation, with breakthroughs enabling prevention of ill-health, earlier diagnosis, more effective treatments, better outcomes and faster recovery. The NHS Long Term Plan (2019) included the commitment to increase the number of people registering to participate in health research to one million by 2023/24.
Further information:
Further information:
NHS Long Term Plan - Chapter 3: Further progress on care quality and outcomes
RCGP - RCGP Research and Surveillance Centre and Research at RCGP
Indemnity & GDPR - research is covered
NIHR EVIDENCE
NIHR EVIDENCE
The NIHR provides summaries of health research through the NIHR Evidence in the form of Signals, Highlights and Themed Reviews, which aim to help clinicians, commissioners and patients to make evidence-based decisions about which treatments and practices are most effective and provide the best use of resources.
Find some examples below showing how primary care research has had a positive impact on patient care:
“Research is an essential part of developing modern medicine, and with general practice at the forefront of patient care, it’s vital that GPs and our teams are spearheading studies with the aim to make things better for our patients, staff, and the wider NHS."
Dr Nick Thomas, Clinical Champion for Clinical Research at the Royal College of GPsPage updated
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