Anna Dania, MPH, PhD Candidate; Zsolt Nagykaldi, PhD; Ari Haaranen, PhD; Jean W.M. Muris, MD, PhD; Philip H. Evans, FRCGP, MPhil; Pekka Mäntyselkä, MD, PhD; Chris van Weel, MD, PhD
Corresponding Author: Anna Dania, MPH, PhD Candidate; Maastricht University. Email: a.dania@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Section: Original Research
Publication: TBD
Purpose: Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs) have developed dynamically across the world and over five decades, paralleling the emergence of the primary care discipline. This seminal scoping review of the worldwide English literature aimed at constructing an overarching thematic framework that describes key elements of PBRNs that determine their successful establishment. While this review focuses on the Internal Environment of PBRNs, the complete framework will be presented incrementally in future publications. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the published and grey literature. Electronic databases, including MEDLINE (PubMed), OVID, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Scopus, and SAGE Premier were searched for publications between 1/1/1965 and 12/31/2020 for English language articles. Non-peer-reviewed online sources and reference lists were also searched. Rigorous inclusion/exclusion criteria were implemented to identify relevant publications and inductive thematic analysis was applied to elucidate key elements, sub-themes and themes. Social network theory was used to synthesize findings. Results: A total of 229 publications described the establishment of 93 PBRNs in 15 countries that met the inclusion criteria, spanning over a 50-year period. The overall framework yielded 3 main themes, 12 sub-themes, and 57 key elements, of which the Internal Environment theme was constituted by 4 sub-themes (Foundation; Practitioner Participation & Motivation; Academic Participation & Attitudes; and Network Infrastructure & Operations). Key PBRN activities included relationship-building between academia and practitioners and development of a learning environment through multi-directional communication. These activities resulted in practitioner engagement in research and professional growth, scholarly products, and real-world applications that facilitated care quality improvement. Conclusions: PBRNs across many countries contributed significantly to shaping the landscape of primary healthcare and became an integral part of it. Many common features within the sphere of PBRNs can be identified that seem to promote their establishment across the world.