The integration of research into community-based hospitals and homes for the aged within the System was seen as providing several advantages, including but not limited to the following:

• Academic research centres need the involvement of the community in order to develop meaningful research programs that can apply to the entire health care system.
• Academically based research programs, when blended with high standards of patient/resident care, offer value-added services and complement the community.
• Research methodologies, when consistent with the principles of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), offer the highest level of critical evaluation in health care. Evaluation outcome measurement is most effective through applying relevant research methodologies.