Preparing nurses for primary health care futures: how well do Australian nursing courses perform?

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Keleher ◽  
Rhian Parker ◽  
Karen Francis
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Educational Preparation ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion

Health reform is increasingly targeted towards strengthening and expansion of primary health systems as care is shifted from hospitals to communities. The renewed emphasis on prevention and health promotion is intended to curb the tide of chronic disease and sustain effective chronic disease management, as well as address health inequities and increase affordable access to services. Given the scope of nurses’ practice, the success of Australia’s health system reforms are dependent on a nursing workforce that is appropriately educated and prepared for practice in community settings. This article reports on the results of an Australian national audit of all undergraduate nursing curricula to examine the extent of professional socialisation and educational preparation of nurses for primary health care. The results of the audit are compared with Australian nursing standards associated with competency in primary health care. The findings indicate that Australian nursing competencies are general in their approach to skills and knowledge, not specifying any particular competencies for primary health care, while undergraduate student preparation for practice in primary health and community settings is patchy and not keeping pace with reform agendas that promote expanded roles for nurses in primary health care, prevention and health promotion. The implication for nursing curriculum reform is that attention to achieving nursing graduate capacity for primary health care and health promotion is a priority.

scholarly journals Editorial: A Milestone

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Hal Swerissen
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Disease Management ◽  
Chronic Disease Management ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Primary Health

This special issue of the Australian Journal of Primary Health on comparative approaches to primary health care is timely. The AJPH has been published for 12 years. Over that time it has developed a unique blend of research, comment and practice articles covering the range of interests embodied in primary health. We have regularly published special issues to highlight important themes. The first of these was in 1999 on health promotion evaluation. Subsequently, we have had issues on primary health care (2000), the future of primary health care (2002), chronic disease management (2003), addressing inequity through primary care (2004), reflections on the Australian primary health care sector (2005), and health care in community settings (2006).

scholarly journals Discussing issues of health promotion and research in the context of primary care during the ongoing austerity period: an exploratory analysis from two regions in Greece

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Sbarouni ◽  
Elena Petelos ◽  
Apostolos Kamekis ◽  
Stylianos Ioannis Tzagkarakis ◽  
Emmanouil K Symvoulakis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
National Health System ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Administrative Governance

Background. In Greece, both Primary Health Care (PHC) system and National Health System (NHS) in general, were plagued by several inefficiencies even prior to the financial crisis; the imposed austerity measures dramatically worsened the level of health provision and access, especially for vulnerable social groups, resulting in an exacerbation of existing disparities and access gaps.  Aim and methods. The current branch study was conducted in two regions of Greece, namely Crete and Epirus, with the main aim of eliciting responses to gather baseline information regarding crucial PHC-related aspects, using questionnaires with dichotomous questions. Directors or managers (physicians who have been assigned administrative/governance duties), of the Primary Health Care Centres (PHCCs) in two Greek geographic and administrative regions of Crete and Epirus, were invited to participate and to contribute to the investigation of issues on the provision of prevention and health promotion services, e-health topics and primary care research. Thirty directors/managers were approached and twenty-eight agreed to participate. Data processing and analysis of the responses was performed for the completed questionnaires.   Results. Data analysis did not demonstrate a surprisingly substantial deviation in the average score of positive responses of directors/managers in the PHCCs of Crete in comparison to those of directors/managers in the PHCCs of Epirus. The findings show that several gaps exist in terms of prevention and health promotion resources and activities in both regions, while e-health, electronic health record (EHR) and telemedicine services are poorly developed.  Conclusion. The study confirms that the Greek PHC is characterized by several inefficiencies, which may affect the quality of the services provided. An overall deficit has been emerged for PHCCs in both regions, a fact that indicates crucial points lacking in terms of overall PHC provision, thus adversely impacting upon living conditions, health quality and prevention.    

scholarly journals IMPORTANCE OF RECEPTION FOR PREVENTING DISEASES CARDIOVASCULAR IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion

Primary Health Care (PHC) is a great differential in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, as its effectiveness contributes to reducing the worsening of health problems and, consequently, in the patient's hospitalization. Based on this interrelationship, evidence from databases that correlated the reception performed in the PHC with the prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) was incorporated. In the light of the chosen articles, not only the consequences of deficiencies in PHC were expressed, but also the satisfactory outcomes that occur when its dynamics are well structured and efficient, concomitantly built on principles involving disease prevention and health promotion, which they draw in expressive results such as lower rates of preventable deaths, as well as the decrease in the number of hospitalizations due to Heart Failure and Stroke.

scholarly journals The National Mental Health Strategy: Redefining Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health?

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Promotion ◽  
Health Prevention ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
National Mental Health

This paper explores policy documents published as part of the National Mental Health Strategy for ideas about mental health promotion and prevention, to determine the extent to which these documents adopt a primary health care approach. Discourse analysis was undertaken of key policy documents to discover the manner in which they discuss mental health promotion and prevention. Three points of departure are identified. The first of these is a focus on social and biological risk factors that manifest at an individual rather than at a social level, effectively drawing attention away from social inequalities. These documents also primarily target a population that is viewed as being "at risk" due to exposure to risk factors, shifting attention from strategies aimed at improving the health of the population as a whole. A final difference is found in the understanding of primary health care. Recent policy documents equate primary health care with the first level of service delivery in the community, primarily by general practitioners, shifting the focus of care from mental health promotion with the community to early intervention with those experiencing mental health problems. This is supported by the incorporation of a biomedical understanding into mental health prevention. While recent mental health policy documents re-assert the need for early intervention and health prevention, the form of mental health prevention espoused in these documents differs from that which informed the Declaration of Alma Alta, Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and World Health Organization's Health for All strategy.

scholarly journals Pharmaceutical care in Brazil’s primary health care

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (suppl.2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Sodré Araújo ◽  
Ediná Alves Costa ◽  
Augusto Afonso Guerra Junior ◽  
Francisco de Assis Acurcio ◽  
Ione Aquemi Guibu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Pharmaceutical Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Health Team ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Primary Health

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the activities of clinical nature developed by pharmacists in basic health units and their participation in educational activities aiming at health promotion. METHODS: This article is part of the Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos – Serviços, 2015 (PNAUM – National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines – Services, 2015), a cross-sectional and exploratory study, of evaluative nature, consisting of a survey of information in a representative sample of cities, stratified by the Brazilian regions that constitute domains of study, and a subsample of primary health care services. The interviewed pharmacists (n=285) were responsible for the delivery of medicines and were interviewed in person with the use of a script. The characterization of the activities of clinical nature was based on information from pharmacists who declared to perform them, and on participation in educational activities aiming at health promotion, according to information from all pharmacists. The results are presented in frequency and their 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: From the interviewed subjects, 21.3% said they perform activities of clinical nature. Of these, more than 80% considered them very important; the majority does not dispose of specific places to perform them, which hinders privacy and confidentiality in these activities. The main denominations were “pharmaceutical guidance” and “pharmaceutical care.” The registration of activities is mainly made in the users’ medical records, computerized system, and in a specific document filed at the pharmacy, impairing the circulation of information among professionals. Most pharmacists performed these activities mainly along with physicians and nurses; 24.7% rarely participated in meetings with the health team, and 19.7% have never participated. CONCLUSIONS: Activities of clinical nature performed by pharmacists in Brazil are still incipient. The difficulties found point out to the professionals’ improvisation and effort. The small participation in educational activities of health promotion indicates little integration of pharmacists with the health team and of pharmaceutical services with other health actions

scholarly journals The influence of primary health care organizational models on patients’ experience of care in different chronic disease situations

2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Pineault ◽  
S Provost ◽  
M Hamel ◽  
A Couture ◽  
JF Levesque
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Organizational Models ◽  
Experience Of Care ◽  
Primary Health

Objectives To examine the extent to which experience of care varies across chronic diseases, and to analyze the relationship of primary health care (PHC) organizational models with the experience of care reported by patients in different chronic disease situations. Methods We linked a population survey and a PHC organizational survey conducted in two regions of Quebec. We identified five groups of chronic diseases and contrasted these with a no–chronic-disease group. Results Accessibility of care is low for all chronic conditions and shows little variation across diseases. The contact and the coordination-integrated models are the most accessible, whereas the single-provider model is the least. Process and outcome indices of care experience are much higher than accessibility for all conditions and vary across diseases, with the highest being for cardiovascular-risk-factors and the lowest for respiratory diseases (for people aged 44 and under). However, as we move from risk factors to more severe chronic conditions, the coordination-integrated and community models are more likely to generate better process of care, highlighting the greater potential of these two models to meet the needs of more severely chronically ill individuals within the Canadian health care system.

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