IDIBAPS, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer

Primary care is the point of patient entry to the healthcare system, and the primary care centers are where most of the population health problems are dealt with. It is in this setting where the relationship between the patient and reference primary care physician and nurse is a key factor in preventing and healing diseases, and in promoting healthy habits. In the research context, the multidisciplinary and transverse nature of the activities of the primary care professional favors a biological, psychological and social approach to the patients and their illnesses, in both the consulting office and in the home. The integral approach to the individual and longitudinal care over the full course of the life of the patient makes it possible to conduct proprietary and/or collaborative studies targeted at knowledge of the characteristics of the population, people and their illnesses. Primary care aims to carry out research inherent to its nature, integrating within the existing investigational networks and groups, and working in a coordinated manner with other consolidated research teams from different perspectives:

• Conduction of population-based studies (both descriptive and evaluating interventions and follow-up), in an accessible and well defined population of subjects, taking advantage of the computer-based filing of clinical data.
• Conduction of research into healthcare results or outcomes.
• Description of the natural history of the patient and disease from a biological, psychological and social perspective.
• Conduction of studies of risk factors and preventive medicine.
• Analysis of the morbidity and mortality of the most prevalent disorders.
• Development of collaborative studies with the administration and research entities or groups allowing the implementation of translation research.