The first Danish research unit for general practice was established in Copenhagen in 1978 to strengthen research in general practice and family medicine, support the development of the speciality and establish it as an academic discipline.
The Research Unit for General Practice in Aarhus was founded in 1992, followed by the research unit in Odense in 1993 and the research unit in Aalborg in 2015. The Aalborg unit is now part of the Centre for General Practice at Aalborg University. In 2022, a research centre was established in Esbjerg as part of the research unit in Odense.
Since its establishment in 1992, the Research Unit for General Practice in Aarhus has grown considerably. Its researchers have extensive expertise in epidemiological and clinical research, with longstanding strengths in register-based and questionnaire-based studies. As the research environment has become increasingly interdisciplinary, qualitative research methods have also become an integral part of the work.