The aim of CAPHRI is:
High-quality research and teaching focused on health care innovation, ranging from prevention to rehabilitation, from a patient, professional and societal perspective, leading to improvement of health and well-being of the population.
Research and teaching in the School are devoted to contribute to improvements in the area of public health and primary care. CAPHRI focuses on interventions in the chain of care, starting with prevention and primary care, and ending with aftercare and rehabilitation. The aim of the research is to get insight into the effectiveness of interventions, and their adequacy in meeting prospective patients’ needs. Specific attention is paid to the implementation of such evidence based interventions. Interventions are also evaluated from an economic perspective (Health Technology Assessment) and a normative perspective (e.g. consequences for professional and patient roles and responsibilities). The research topics require both basic and applied research developing new theoretical frameworks, multivariate models, methodologies and designs to meet the complexities of primary care and public health practice.
The School focuses on chronic diseases. The main diseases are chronic lung diseases (COPD), cardiovascular diseases, rheumatic diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, diabetes, and common mental diseases (such as depression). The success of acute medicine has led to a rise in the number of patients with chronic diseases implying the need for integrated care, both between health care institutions and between professionals. New forms of organization (such as transmural or integrated care) are being developed, and new intermediate professions are being created (such as the specialized nurse). The primary care physician plays a prominent role in the delivery of integrated care, assisted by new professionals (e.g. primary care nurses and nurse practitioners). The role of the patient is also changing. A patient who suffers from a chronic disease has to learn to cope with dependencies, and find ways to function and participate in society. The change in emphasis from acute care to chronic care implies new challenges for prevention. Chronic diseases are often related to lifestyle. Prevention and management of chronic diseases require research into lifestyle determinants which takes environmental behavioural and biological elements (genetics) into account. This calls for new forms of cooperation between researchers from various disciplines while the application of results in practice requires new forms of cooperation between professionals (GPs, nurses and specialists). New insights in for example molecular medicine will be implemented in primary care. In the future preventive medicine will have an essential impact on primary care influencing the actual care provided by GPs and nurses including educational elements (e.g. genetic counselling) and motivational interviewing.
Primary care is a central research topic at Maastricht University, with a strong tradition of extramural research and more recent developments in transmural research. In the area of public health, prevention and health promotion, research on determinants of health behaviour is well developed. Innovation of care for chronically ill people, especially the elderly, is an important topic of research. Evidence-based health care has received a strong input through clinical epidemiology and Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Research into normative aspects and the integration of care and public health provides added value to more quantitative analyses of developments in health and health care. The main aim of the School is to stimulate further development of research in these areas and to promote cooperation with other Schools in the context of FHML and MUMC+.
Primary care research of Maastricht University has a long-standing history of success. The scientific output of the cluster Primary Care has been excellent in the past years and the expectations for the future are excellent as well. The quality of research in the area of primary care is the outcome of cooperation over the boundaries of the clusters. Research on innovation of care, for instance new models for cooperation between primary care and secondary care, are important elements of the School’s primary care expertise. Issues in the domain of public health, for instance communication about risks and prevention, are part of the School’s research in primary care. Our aim is to establish a Centre of Excellence in Primary Care in a period of five years. In order to develop a Centre of Excellence, the School will specifically focus on the following areas in the next period of time:
- Stimulating transmural research and academic practice networks.
- Strengthening the generic cohort infrastructure.
- Developing major initiatives in new and promising areas of primary care.
Next to these focused activities, the School will further the quality of research by two generic activities:
- Organizing visiting professorships and academic exchange.
- Scouting and supporting talented staff.
The School will also focus on establishing partnerships with economic and societal parties:
- Valorisation of knowledge