The family in the family medicine literature.

BACKGROUND The degree to which the family medicine literature articulates unique family practice approaches and perspectives that are distinct from other primary care specialties has not been well studied. To determine how often a family practice perspective is included in clinical articles in the family medicine literature, we performed a family medicine journal review. METHODS We reviewed 173 original research articles, review articles, and case reports from four family medicine journals from the year 2000: American Family Physician, Journal of Family Practice, Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, and Archives of Family Medicine. Each article was scored by independent reviewers as to whether the article discussed family aspects of care or family context. RESULTS A total of 9.3% of clinical articles discussed family aspects of care; an additional 17.3% made some limited mention of the family or social context. Female first authors were 2.5 times more likely to have demonstrated a family practice perspective. Articles published in the American Family Physician and review articles were most likely to discuss family medicine perspectives, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Unique family medicine approaches and perspectives are not discussed commonly in clinical articles in the family medicine literature.