BACKGROUND Many problems encountered in general practice are ‘wicked problems’, problems that are highly contextual and have no single right solution, however, they still need to be managed in their clinical context. Just consider patients with chronic multimorbidity or mental health issues.
AIM To apply a newly developed framework to analyse the relational nature of wicked problems and the most appropriate research approaches that can lead to their best possible understanding.
CONTENT A short introduction will introduce the nature of ‘wicked problems’, followed by a presentation on how to untangle the characteristics of these problems. Participants then will apply the framework to explore their own ‘wicked problems’. Participants will share their problems and receive feedback from the presenters and fellow participants. A second short presentation will introduce several research methodologies that are best suited to answer ‘wicked problem’ questions which participants then will consider for their own issue. The workshop will conclude with a group discussion about the applicability of the framework to future research projects.
GOALS Workshop participants will be able to explore their own ‘wicked problems’, identify the relational nature of their problem before formulating a research question. Participants will then consider which research approach is most suitable to answer their question. The workshop encourages participants to build a ‘wicked problem’ research community.

1 To understand the difference between simple and ‘wicked’ problems; 2 identify the relational nature of ‘wicked problem’ research questions 3 identify which research methodology is best suited to answer contextual ‘wicked problem’ questions