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Journal of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners
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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 17(3)

The Southern Primary Care Research Network 3 years on – reflections from the end of the beginning

Sharon Leitch https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9939-8773 1 * , Abigail Pigden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6260-7647 1 , Alex Ryde 2 , Carol Atmore https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4031-7016 2 , Jing-Ru Li 1 , Tania Moerenhout https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6742-5260 3 , Wenna Yeo 3 , Anna Williams https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4853-9631 1 , Alesha Smith https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1056-9527 4 , Robin Turner 5 , Tim Stokes https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1127-1952 1
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

1 University of Otago Medical School, Department of General Practice and Rural Health, New Zealand.

2 WellSouth Primary Health Network, New Zealand.

3 University of Otago Medical School, Bioethics Centre, New Zealand.

4 University of Otago, School of Pharmacy, New Zealand.

5 University of Otago, Biostatistics Centre, New Zealand.

* Correspondence to: sharon.leitch@otago.ac.nz

Handling Editor: Felicity Goodyear-Smith

Journal of Primary Health Care 17(3) 269-275 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC25020
Submitted: 5 February 2025  Accepted: 15 May 2025  Published: 18 June 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background and context

Despite the large volume of health and administrative data collected every day in primary care, little is available for research in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). The Southern Primary Care Research Network (PCRN) was developed to enable access to primary care data through the establishment of a regional research database, and to create the supportive governance and infrastructure necessary for enabling a broader programme of research. This includes, but is not limited to, studies utilising linked data. This paper describes the formation of the Southern PCRN and the research undertaken so far. It aims to raise awareness about the Southern PCRN, the types of data available, and caveats associated with using primary care data for research.

Results

Research networks require organisational coherence for governance and oversight. Various linked groups take on different roles in the Southern PCRN and are described. Foundational research projects are described, including three data linkage projects, a scoping review, research prioritisation exercises, and the development of an ethical framework for data use.

Strategies for improvement

Securing ongoing funding will improve the capacity of the network to undertake primary care research and facilitate the unification of regional primary care networks to establish a national primary care research network.

Lessons learnt

Strategic investment in primary care research infrastructure is essential for NZ to fully realise the potential of routinely collected health data to inform equitable service delivery, policy, and innovation in population health. Establishing a regional primary care research network is demonstrably feasible.

Keywords: ethics, data linkage, health data, health equity, healthcare policy, primary care, research network, research prioritisation.

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