Research

The Department of Family Medicine is committed to producing high-quality scholarship that improves patient care, medical education, and health policy. Benefiting from the renowned academic environment of the University of Chicago, our Family Medicine researchers apply rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to practical problems.

Our current research projects have diverse funding sources, including the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and the University of Chicago's Urban Health Initiative.

We study topics relevant to Family Medicine practitioners, patients and students, including:

  • Community-based medical education
  • Reproductive health outcomes and disparities
  • Screening for diabetic retinopathy
  • Clinical ethics and narrative medicine

In addition to producing primary research, members of the Department of Family Medicine participate in systematic dissemination of new research from the medical literature into medical practice. We nominate and review papers as part of the PURLs surveillance system and write Help Desk Answers for Evidence-Based Practice, a publication of the Family Physician Inquiry Network.

Faculty, fellows and residents all participate in research activities, and we welcome students to get involved. Research takes place on both our south side Chicago campus, through Pritzker School of Medicine and the University of Chicago Medical Center, and at our north suburban sites through the NorthShore University HealthSystem.

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Reproductive Health Outcomes & Disparities Research

The RHOADs research group generates new knowledge to improve reproductive health care and outcomes, and reduce racial and socioeconomic disparities. We are a collaboration between the University of Chicago and Northshore Departments of Family Medicine, and the Northshore Research Institute. We also work closely with the Ambulatory Primary Care Innovations Group (APCIG) and researchers in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Public Health Sciences. Our goals are the following:



1. Build a sustainable research collaboration across the University of Chicago and Northshore based on passions for improving maternal and child health outcomes;

2. Leverage the assets of the two institutions to study and implement interventions that will improve the quality of reproductive health care - including preconception, prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum, interconception, and family planning care - locally and beyond.