Research in the practice of family medicine: a lost cause or a pending challenge?

Abstract

This article reflects on barriers to research in family medicine, particularly in Latin American countries. These difficulties are not only related to the lack of family physicians as clinical researchers, but also to their progressive relegation from research on specific diseases or conditions by specialists whose domain is an organ system or disease. In addition, family physicians in Latin America are also loaded with the difficulties imposed by the growing north-south divide between developed and developing countries given that, as compared with developed countries, few studies are conducted in Latin America. While research in Family Medicine is not a lost cause, it requires strong commitment from all academic, political, and social stakeholders dedicated to family medicine as a structural axis of healthcare services in Latin America, to offer primary care research the boost it needs.