32, No. 4 April 2000, Vol. Changes in health care delivery and funding have placed strains on academic medical centers ability to meet their multiple missions. To gain insight into how this new academic landscape is affecting academic primary care, this study examined the current status and perceived challenges at nine departments of family medicine at allopathic and osteopathic medical schools. Site visits were made to nine academic departments of family medicine where key informant interviews were conducted with several individuals in key leadership positions. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed by a three-person multidisciplinary team for key themes.
Significant challenges face academic departments of family medicine.
The success or failure of departments of family medicine to meet these challenges could serve as a bellwether for how primary care fits into the future overall scheme of academic health centers. Effects were also compared to another community not exposed to intervention. After 8 years, intervention participants showed significant reduction of mean systolic blood pressure compared to the control group and had higher intake of dietary fibers and more-positive attitudes to and better knowledge of healthy diets. There was no increase of mean body weight or serum triglyceride levels whatsoever in the intervention group. Compared with another female population not exposed to intervention, body weight and systolic blood pressure changed in a significantly more favorable way.