Primary care
The Keele School of Medicine hosts a world-leading Primary Care Research Group investigating the most challenging problems faced by patients, clinicians and society, focusing on long-term conditions such as musculoskeletal pain and arthritis, mental health and wellbeing, cardiovascular disease, and multi-morbidity.
We are member and currently lead the National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research (Director: professor Christian Mallen), which is a partnership between nine leading academic centres for primary care research in England.
Our multidisciplinary team reflects qualitative and quantitative research expertise (, as well as the wide range of health professions working in primary care. Strong links exist with our teams working in public health and social care.
We work closely with patients and the public when identifying research questions and designing our research studies, to ensure our work is relevant to their needs, including those of underserved communities. The team has established strong networks with the NHS, working together with local Community Healthcare Trusts to design and deliver our studies.
We aim to achieve a beneficial impact on the health and care of individuals with target conditions, their families, and the population. Our primary care research group works together with the Keele Impact Accelerator Unit to push the pace of translating research findings into tangible benefits for patients, clinicians, and the NHS.
Our research supports the ways in which health professionals work, allowing them to deliver better and more appropriate primary care. Across health domains, we provide evidence which underpins:
- Proactive approaches to healthcare, which actively looks for health conditions such as pain, low mood, or other related conditions, aiming to prevent or reduce long term disability
- A move away from a ‘one size fits all’ model of care to one which provides personalised treatments better suited to individuals’ needs
- Development of new models of care delivered by primary care health professionals (including nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, paramedics), offering more accessible care for all, and holistic care for patients with complex problems
- Putting patients in the driving seat, allowing them to be more actively involved in decisions about their care and better supported to maintaining well-being and independence.