Editorial: CoAG and Primary Health Reform

Chronic disease prevention and management, integration and community care continue to be key themes for primary health and community care as the papers in this issue of the Journal attest. Three quarters of Australians have an ongoing chronic illness (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006). The Council of Australian Governments has recently emphasised the importance of health promotion and disease prevention (Council of Australian Governments, 2006), but to date proposals for action have been disappointing. There is now a plethora of research on these issues and innovative policy and practice to deal with them. There is little doubt that primary health and community care programs are important for the effective delivery of chronic disease prevention. Yet, it remains difficult to get concrete progress towards a national policy framework for primary health and community care. Instead we have incremental, piecemeal attempts at reform. Why is this so?