Participatory research in rural primary care

Translating research into practice will require researchers to develop new methods and approaches. Standard randomized control trials may help determine the efficacy of a test or treatment but are unlikely to help identify what will make it possible to implement that new test or treatment in everyday practice. Rural practices may have unique needs that are best addressed using a participatory research model that allows collaboration among the researchers and those being studied. This article gives one example of participatory research used to help translate asthma guidelines into primary care in rural Minnesota practices.