CRISP STATEMENT NOW PUBLISHED

CRISP is the first reporting guideline by and for primary care research. After five years of research and development, involving an international, interdisciplinary, interprofessional team, the CRISP statement is now available online at the Annals of Family Medicine.

WHAT IS CRISP?

CRISP is an evidence-based effort to improve the reporting of primary care research. Better research reports are more readable, useful, and applicable. They can empower better appraisal, synthesis, and application of research findings and ultimately lead to betterer practice, care, and outcomes for patients and populations.

WHO IS CRISP?

CRISP is an international, interprofessional, interdisciplinary initiative that includes a range of primary care and research experts, including practitioners, patients, and community members. CRISP is led by an international Working Group.

WHO CAN USE CRISP?

The CRISP Checklist aims to help investigators and authors improve their reports of primary care research, including:

• Research done by primary care researchers and teams.
• Studies involving primary care patients, clinicians, care settings, or data.
• Research conducted by others or in other settings with the intention that study findings and recommendations will be implemented in primary care.

WHY REPORTING GUIDELINES FOR PRIMARY CARE?

Primary care is the setting where most medical services are provided to most patients for most problems. Primary care research seeks to understand:

• Patients and their problems.
• Health and illness as it occurs in families and communities.
• Processes of care and healing.
• Social and environmental contributors, facilitators, and barriers to care and health.
• Clinicians, teams, and systems of care in the primary care setting.

Primary care research involves investigators from a wide variety of disciplines and research traditions using the full spectrum of methods. Results are published in various journals and presented to diverse audiences. Primary care research must meet high scientific standards. Reporting and dissemination of its results must meet the needs of researchers, practitioners, educators, policymakers, patients, and communities. As with patient care, clinician training, and service delivery, guidelines developed by more limited specialists with more focused points of view may not be appropriate or sufficient for primary care research. Adequate reporting of studies done in, on, or about primary care can help make the research more powerful in improving the care, health, and lives of all.