Real-world evidence for primary care: A primer on observational research

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Real-world evidence for primary care: A primer on observational research
 
Creator von Pressentin, Klaus B. Motlhatlhedi, Keneilwe Musende, Malo Schuster, Tibor
 
Subject — primary health care; primary care; observational study; cohort studies; case–control studies; cross-sectional studies; causal inference; health services research
Description Observational studies offer a non-experimental and minimally disruptive approach for generating real-world evidence, making them particularly valuable for informing clinical practice, research and health system strengthening – especially in primary care. This article, part of the African Journal of Primary Health Care Family Medicine (PHCFM) methods series, introduces key observational study designs including cross-sectional, cohort and (nested) case–control studies and discusses their application in doctoral-level research. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, we examine methodological considerations, ethical issues and modern analytical strategies essential for the careful planning and execution of observational research. By integrating conceptual frameworks and causal inference methods, this primer aims to equip researchers at different career stages with a foundational understanding of how to choose and implement observational designs that are both methodologically robust and relevant to primary care contexts.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Date 2025-11-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v17i2.5197
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 17, No 2 (2025); 8 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5197/8896 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5197/8897 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5197/8898 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5197/8899
 
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Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Klaus B. von Pressentin, Keneilwe Motlhatlhedi, Malo Musende, Tibor Schuster https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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