Primary Health Care

Primary Health Care

Working together for better health

Session objectives

Health care– Definition, Levels of health care & characteristics .Primary Health Care – Definition (Human services , includes, depending upon)Essential Components/ServicesPrinciples of Primary Health Care Primary Health Care – Benefits, Reform, Involves, Relies on, Aims & Global Target.

Health careIt is defined as a "multitude of services rendered to individuals, families, and communities by the agents of the health services or professions, for the purpose of promoting, maintaining, monitoring or restoring health“

Levels of health care: a. Primary health care b. secondary health care c. Tertiary health care

a. Primary health care: This level is closest to the people, it is provided by the primary health centers and their subcentres, with community participation. The concept of primary health care involves a concerted effort to provide the rural population of developing countries with at least the minimum of health services.

c. Tertiary health care: This level offers super-specialist care and provided by the regional/central level institution. In addition, the tertiary level supports and complements the action carried out at the primary level.

Health care has many characteristics include: Appropriateness (relevance) Comprehensive ( whether there is an optimum mix of preventive, curative and promotional services) Adequacy ( if the services is proportionate to requirement) Availability ( i.e., ratio between the population of an administrative unit and the health facility , e.g., doctor population center)

Accessibility ( geographic, economic, or cultural accessibility) Affordability ( the cost of health care within the means of individual and state) Feasibility (operational efficiency of procedure, logistic support and resources )

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE ASPER ALMA ATA DECLARATION

Essential Health care, based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology, made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self determination.



Primary Health Care – Definition Primary Health Care is the first level of contact with the health system to promote health, prevent illness, care for common illnesses, and manage ongoing health problems.

Primary Health Care- Definition

Primary Health Care includes: Primary Care (physicians, midwives & nurses); Health promotion, illness prevention; Health maintenance & home support; Community rehabilitation; Pre-hospital emergency medical services; & Coordination and referral to other areas of health care.

Primary Health Care – Definition Primary Health Care is different in each community depending upon: Needs of the residents; Availability of health care providers; The communities geographic location; & Proximity to other health care services in the area.

Essential Components/Servicesthat Comprise PHC�� At the time of Alma Ata, eight serviceswere defined�� Since then more have been added by– International agencies– Individual countries

Eight Essential Components of PHC Services 1. Education concerning prevailing health problems and methods of preventing and controlling them (planned learning activities, voluntary behavior change, full participation)

2. Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition

3. Maternal and child health care, including family planning


4. Immunization against the major infectious diseases Polio may soon be eradicated through worldwide immunization campaigns



5. Prevention and control of locally endemic diseases such as Guinea Worm and malaria


6. Supply of adequate water and sanitation: Drinkwater from a sanitary well (left)—not a guineaworminfested pond (right) Note: Man on rightis using a filtering pipe to drink out of pond.

7. Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries at a local government health center; from a village health worker


8. Provision of essentialdrugs: essential drug lists,Bamako Initiatives—revolvingfunds; collaboration withindigenous healers; trainingpatent medicine vendors

Principles of primary health care Equitable distribution Community participation Intersectoral coordination Appropriate technology

Principles of primary health care 1- Equitable distribution i.e., health services must be shared equally by all people irrespective of their ability to pay, and all (rich or poor, urban or rural) must have access to health services.

2- Community participation There must be a continuing effort to secure meaningful involvement of the community in the planning, implementation and maintenance of health services, besides maximum reliance on local resources such as manpower, money and materials.

3- Intersectoral coordination An important element of intersectoral approach is planning-planning with other sectors to avoid unnecessary duplication of activities. The Declaration of Alma-Ata states that "primary health care involves in addition to the health sector, al1 related sectors and aspects of national and community development. countries may have to review their administrative system, reallocate their resources and introduce suitable legislation

4- Appropriate technology It has been defined as " technology that is scientifically sound, adapted to local needs, and acceptable to those who apply it and those for whom it is used, and that can be maintained by the people themselves in keeping with the principle of self reliance with the resources the community and country can afford".

Population Health

Principles of Primary Health Care
Continuity of Care
Efficiency
Accessibility
Intersectoral / Interdisciplinary
Affordable & Sustainable
Community Participation
Appropriateness

Primary Health Care - Benefits

PHC focuses on keeping people healthy & addressing illness early so as to increase probability of cure; PHC is client focused; Individuals have access to appropriate care; Services are matched to community needs; Targeted services will have a positive impact on the utilization of health and social services; & Healthy communities with healthy people contribute to a vibrant & stable economy.

Primary Health Care Reform

Medical model Primary Health Care
 Illness  Health  Cure  Prevention, care, cure  Treatment  Health promotion  Episodic care  Continuous care  Specific problems  Comprehensive care  Individual practitioners  Teams of practitioners  Health sector alone  Intersectoral collaboration  Professional dominance  Community participation  Passive reception  Joint responsibility

PHC Involves�� All related sectors and aspects of nationaland community development�� Maximum community self-reliance andparticipation in the planning, organization,operation, and control of care�� Making fullest use of local, national, andother available resources�� Developing (through appropriateeducation) the ability of communities toparticipate

PHC Relies on�� Integrated, functional, and mutuallysupportive referral systems�� Health workers, including physicians,nurses, midwives, auxiliaries,community workers, and traditionalpractitioners�� A response to the expressed needs ofthe community�� The spirit of partnership and service

PHC Aims to Achieve�� An acceptable level of health for all thepeople of the world�� A fuller and better use of world’sresources, through a genuine policy ofindependence, peace, dйtente, anddisarmament�� An acceleration of social andeconomic development, of which PHCis an essential part