Practice-based Research Networks (PBRNs) in the United States: Growing and Still Going After All These Years
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Ten years have passed since we wrote “A Short History of Primary Care Practice-based Research Networks: From Concept to Essential Research Laboratories.”[1][1] In that essay we described the roots of general practice research in the work of visionary family physicians James Mackenzie, Will
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Green, L. A., & Hickner, J. (2006) · The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.19.1.1 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
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Structure, function, and productivity from the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network.
Gilbert, G. H., Fellows, J. L., Allareddy, V., Cochran, D. L., Cunha-Cruz, J., Gordan, V. V., McBurnie, M. A., Meyerowitz, C., Mungia, R., Rindal, D. B., et al. (2022) · Journal of Clinical and Translational Science · doi:10.1017/cts.2022.421 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
“Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) offer unique advantages to clinical research and quality improvement [1-6], primarily because they bring practice-relevant topics onto the research agenda and are conducted in “real-world,” nonacademic clinical settings where almost all of the population receives its health car…”
BackgroundDavis, M. M., Gunn, R., Kenzie, E., Dickinson, C., Conway, C., Chau, A., Michaels, L., Brantley, S., Check, D. K., & Elder, N. (2021) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-021-06610-1 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
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“1984) and have endured and grown over time (Hickner and Green 2015).”
BackgroundGaglioti, A. H., Werner, J., Rust, G., Fagnan, L. J., & Neale, A. V. (2016) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2016.05.160080 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Practice-Based Research Networks and the Mandate for Real-World Evidence
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Individual Patient-Level Data Sharing for Continuous Learning: A Strategy for Trial Data Sharing
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“The priority areas defined by SERCN stakeholders reflected the medical and social complexity of patients seen in FQHCs and traditional values of PBRNs.14,15 Priority areas included implementing models that bolstered FQHC infrastructure through workforce stability and wellness; measuring the economic and health impact…”
BackgroundFuture Directions for Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs): A CERA Survey
Binienda, J., Neale, A. V., & Wallace, L. (2018) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2018.06.180069 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“The goal is to build long-term relationships with funder, leader, and policy maker stakeholders that would then enable improved visibility and understanding of the potential of PBRNs to fulfill the need for research with complex patients in communitybased settings.(4,8) These new collaborations could also lead to new…”
BackgroundPractice-based Research Network (PBRN) Engagement: 20+ Years and Counting
Rhyne, R., & Fagnan, L. J. (2018) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2018.06.180274 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“However, practicebased research in US primary care settings began over 40 years ago with a vision to engage community-based practices to link questions from practice to answers from practice through research.(1) In the early 1980s, we (RR and LJF) were practicing family medicine in rural communities, North Carolina an…”
BackgroundSanftenberg, L., Dreischulte, T., Härdtlein, A., Kosub, H., Gágyor, I., Kurotschka, P. K., Kühlein, T., Burggraf, L., Eck, S., Roos, M., et al. (2023) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-065947 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Purposeful Incorporation of Patient Narratives in the Medical Record in the Netherlands
Luijks, H., van Boven, K., Hartman, T. O., Uijen, A., van Weel, C., & Schers, H. (2021) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2021.04.200609 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
“30”
Project ECHO Integrated Within the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN)
McDonnell, M., Elder, N., Stock, R., Wolf, M., Steeves-Reece, A., & Graham, T. (2020) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2020.05.200051 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Fiscella, K. (2017) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2017.05.170285 · Cited by 9
“other primary care practices.(6) Cardarelli et al(7) report on the NorTex PBRN Study that addresses risk factors for coronary artery calcium (CAC) and to determine whether CAC progression independently predicts cardiovascular disease–related events.”
BackgroundPeters, S., Chakraborty, S., Barton, C., Sturgiss, E., Mazza, D., Leon-Santiago, M. D., Staunton-Smith, T., & Russell, G. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060524 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
It takes a community: a landscape analysis of global health research consortia
VanderZanden, A., Langlois, E., Ghaffar, A., Bitton, A., Fifield, J., & Hirschhorn, L. (2019) · BMJ Global Health · doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001450 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
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“Such alliances are the foundation of practice-based research networks, which operate as loose coalitions of primary care practices to improve clinical practice and patient outcomes [15].”
BackgroundBringing Parent Voices into a Pediatric Research Network Through a Virtual Parent Panel
Engster, S. A., Fascetti, C., Mykita, A., Pompa, K., & Reis, E. (2020) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2020.05.200050 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Wang, Y., Cao, X., Xu, Z., & Fang, H. (2023) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-023-02395-y · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“The number of registered PBRNs and published primary care studies also increased during the same period [8, 16, 20, 21].”
BackgroundGrowing PEACHnet: Building a Practice-Based Research Network in Western Colorado
Nederveld, A. L., Duarte, K. F., & Broaddus-Shea, E. T. (2022) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2022.01.210268 · Cited by 5
“Native American/American Indian 4 (6) 5 (6) 2 (1)”
Vaughan, B., Fleischmann, M., Fitzgerald, K., Grace, S., McLaughlin, P., Jolly, B., & Trumble, S. (2020) · Health Professions Education · doi:10.1016/j.hpe.2020.04.008 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Fisher, M., Brewer, S., Fernald, D. H., Holtrop, J. S., Nederveld, A. L., O'Leary, S., Simpson, M., Westfall, J., Zittleman, L., & Nease, D. (2019) · Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine · doi:10.3122/jabfm.2019.05.190037 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“the reality of community-based primary care practice.(1,2) With the evolution of PBRN funding mod-”
BackgroundViglione, C., & Boynton-Jarrett, R. (2023) · Maternal and Child Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10995-022-03564-6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“…research networks have had a strong history of collaboration at all stages of study development among practitioners, investigators, network administrators, and office staff independent of study topic and more recently an emerging inclusion of patients as research partners (Hickner & Green, 2015).”
BackgroundPractice-Based Research Networks and Massage Therapy: a Scoping Review
Zabel, S., & Munk, N. (2020) · International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork · doi:10.3822/ijtmb.v13i4.535 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“(1) Since the beginning of the 21st century, PBRNs have rapidly grown in number and their impact on health-care research is significant.(2-4) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines a PBRN as a group of 15 or more practices that have a common goal and mission toward answering research questions a…”
BackgroundHaggerty, T., Lewis, W., Plaugher, C. D., Xiang, J., Radcliffe, E., Whanger, S., & Baus, A. (2018) · West Virginia Medical Journal · doi:10.21885/wvmj.2018.14 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
How to Bridge Research Results to Everyday Clinical Care?
Gordan, V. (2017) · Operative dentistry · doi:10.2341/16-154-b · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Sanftenberg, L., Schnaidt, A.-L., Eck, S., Schneider, A., Bucher, E., Kurotschka, P., Gágyor, I., Klanke, M., Stark, S., Kühlein, T., et al. (2025) · BMC Primary Care · doi:10.1186/s12875-025-02744-x · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“While countries such as the Netherlands, England, USA or Scotland [16– 19] already have well-established practice-based research networks (PBRNs), the implementation of PBRNs in Germany is still in progress.”
Practice-Based Research Networks in Stakeholder-Driven Social Work Research
Kelly, E., Davis, L., Holguin, M., Gaona, L., Pahwa, R., Lee, S., Pancake, L., Murch, L., Giambone, L., & Brekke, J. (2020) · Research on social work practice · doi:10.1177/1049731520942591 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“In the next sections, we will define PBRNs, outline issues of structure and leadership, apply their principles to social work science and policy, and sketch out strategies that would facilitate the implementation and growth of PBRNs over time in social work.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialAn observational study of motivation and outcomes for training in Ayurveda.
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Sanftenberg, L., Kosilek, R., Birnberger, L., Schillok, H., Wittmann, F., Luppa, M., Blawert, A., Boekholt, M., Brettschneider, C., König, H., et al. (2025) · BMC Primary Care · doi:10.1186/s12875-025-02948-1 · Cited by 1
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“For more than fifty years [12,13] PBRNs have been established all over the world, serving as the formal framework for long-term research collaborations of otherwise largely isolated and independently operating primary care practices [12,14]. as number of PBRNs in primary care increase their…”
Bailey, D., Fawkes, C., Carnes, D., & Draper-Rodi, J. (2024) · International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ijosm.2024.100742 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Fleischmann, M., Vaughan, B., Campbell, C., Ekberg, J., Evans, M., Green, M., Ong, A., Pitrone, G., Lane, R., & Adams, J. (2024) · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies · doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2024.03.041 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Use of Practice-Based Research Networks in Massage Therapy Research
Zabel, S., & Munk, N. (2024) · International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork · doi:10.3822/ijtmb.v17i1.883 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mehta, P., Taylor, J., Morgan, N., Stubbs, P., & Verhagen, A. P. (2025) · Physical Therapy Reviews · doi:10.1080/10833196.2025.2565534
Fleischmann, M., Vaughan, B., Bird, A., Grace, S., Fitzgerald, K., & McLeod, G. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-133944/v1
“PBRNs have been used both in Australia and internationally across the medical and allied health professions [5, 16, 18-21].”
Method
- Authors
- Hickner, J., & Green, L. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Venue
- The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
- Published
- 2015-09-01
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 541-545
- ISSN
- 1557-2625 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-7118
- OpenAlex
- W2172193564
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 4.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Primary Care and Health Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Health and Medical Research Impacts
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Keywords
- practice-based research networks, primary care research, general practice research, general practitioners, research infrastructure development
- MeSH terms
- Family Practice, Health Services Research, Humans, United States
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