SASPREN - A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN FAMILY-PRACTICE RESEARCH IN SOUTH-AFRICA

Research in the family practice setting can make unique contributions to our understanding of health, illness and disease at the level of th e individual patient as well as the population. In November 1990 a fam ily practice research network (SASPREN) was established in South Afric a. The network consists of sentinel practitioners who have volunteered to provide information on patients seen in their practices. This arti cle describes the development of the network, focusing particularly on its accomplishments in the first 3 years. It is hoped that SASPREN wi ll help overcome some of the obstacles to research encountered by fami ly doctors and ultimately improve the care of patients in the communit y.