Opportunities for research in rural practice.

The contributions of Denis Burkitt, William Budd, Sir James MacKenzie and Will Pickles, among others, are examples of the research that can be accomplished by busy doctors in a general practice or a rural setting with a minimum of equipment. It is still possible to undertake worthwhile research in rural areas of Canada. This contention is supported by many examples of published work from northern Newfoundland and Labrador. The studies have dealt with conditions that are particularly frequent in each region, including those due to nutritional deficiency, infection, extremes of climate and genetic factors. Epidemiologic studies have compared the occurrence of disease in different geographic regions and in different races. The content of general practice and methods of health care delivery have also been investigated. It is suggested that some of these observations could have been made only in the context of rural medical practice.