Primary Care Research Unit
The establishment of the Primary Care Research Unit (PCRU) in 2006 is the culmination of many years of research capacity building. The PCRU draws together the research teams within the Department who represent a wide variety of clinical and research backgrounds. PCRU provides a vibrant research culture and infrastructure to support research of relevance to general practice and primary care. Our major research programs are funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, the beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence and other competitive research grants.
Our vision is to be a national and international centre of excellence in primary care research known for our multi-method, rigorous research programs, our strong national and international collaborative research, and research higher degree training.
Our research is firmly based in general practice and primary care and focuses on the provision of primary, comprehensive, and continuing care. The social model of health, the doctor-patient relationship, and the primary care team are all embedded firmly within our work.
Our current research focuses on quality and safety in primary health care, models of primary care and clinical research in primary care in four major program areas: