scholarly journals 40 Years after Alma Ata: How People Trust in Primary Health Care?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homayoun Sadeghi Bazargani ◽  
Mohammad Saadati ◽  
Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi ◽  
Mostafa Farahbakhsh ◽  
Mina Golestani

Abstract Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) was introduced as the first level of health services delivery after Alma Ata declaration. PHC as a first level of health services delivery needs to be more trustfulness to achieve its defined goals. Public trust in PHC is one of the ignored issues in the context. The aim of this study was to explore public trust in PHC in Iran.Methods: This was a household survey study conducted in 2016 in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Two-stage cluster sampling method with probability proportional to size (PPS) approach was used. Totally 1178 households were enrolled in the study. PHC trust questionnaire and Ultra-short version of socio-economic status assessment questionnaire (SES-Iran) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using STATA 15 through descriptive statistics and linear regression.Results: The mean age of the participants was 41.2, (SD: 15.1) and most of them (53.7%) were female. Mean score of PHC trust was 56.9±24.7 (out of 100). It was significantly different between inhabitants of Tabriz (the province capital city) and other cities in the province (p<0.001). Linear regression showed that younger age, gender, insurance type, being married and households higher socio-economic situation had a significant positive influence on PHC trust level with R2 = 0.14383 .Conclusions: Public trust in PHC system in Iran needs to be improved. Individual variables had a small but significant share in trust level. PHC trust not only influenced by individual variables and experience but also by health system and health providers characteristics and public sphere about PHC system. PHC trust level could be used as a public indicator in health systems especially in Low and Middle income countries to lead system strengthening policies in national and international levels.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homayoun Sadeghi Bazargani ◽  
Mohammad Saadati ◽  
Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi ◽  
Mostafa Farahbakhsh ◽  
Mina Golestani

Abstract Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) was introduced as the first level of health services delivery after Alma Ata declaration. It needs to be more trustful to achieve its defined goals. Public trust in PHC is one of the ignored issues in the context. The aim of this study was to explore public trust in PHC in Iran.Methods: This was a household survey study conducted in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Two-stage cluster sampling method with probability proportional to size (PPS) approach was used. Totally 1178 households were enrolled in the study. PHC trust questionnaire and Ultra-short version of socio-economic status assessment questionnaire (SES-Iran) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using STATA 15 through descriptive statistics and linear regression. Results: The mean age of the participants was 41.2, (SD: 15.1) and most of them (53.7%) were female. Mean score of PHC trust was 56.9±24.7 (out of 100). It was significantly different between inhabitants of Tabriz (the province capital city) and other cities in the province (p<0.001). Linear regression showed that younger age, gender, insurance type, being married and households higher socio-economic situation had a significant positive influence on PHC trust level with R2 = 0.14383 .Conclusions: Public trust in PHC system in Iran needs to be improved. Individual variables had a small but significant share in trust level. PHC trust not only influenced by individual variables and experience but also by health system and health providers characteristics and public sphere about PHC system. PHC trust level could be used as a public indicator in health systems especially in Low and Middle income countries to lead system strengthening policies in national and international levels.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homayoun Sadeghi Bazargani ◽  
Mohammad Saadati ◽  
Jafar Sadegh Tabrizi ◽  
Mostafa Farahbakhsh ◽  
Mina Golestani

Abstract Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) was introduced as the first level of health services delivery after Alma-Ata declaration. However, after forty years, it needs to be more trustful to achieve its predefined objectives. Public trust in PHC is one of the neglected issues in the context. The aim of this study is to evaluate public trust in PHC in Iran.Methods: The present investigation is a household survey conducted in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Two-stage cluster sampling method with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) approach was used. Totally, 1178 households were enrolled in the study. PHC trust questionnaire and Ultra-short version of Socio-Economic Status assessment questionnaire (SES-Iran) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using STATA software (version 15) through descriptive statistics and linear regression. Results: The mean± SD age of the participants was 41.2±15.1 and most (53.7%) were female. Mean score of PHC trust was 56.9±24.7 (out of 100). It was significantly different between residents of Tabriz (the capital of province) and other cities in the province (p<0.001). Linear regression showed that younger age, gender, insurance type, being married, and households higher socio-economic status had a significant positive effect on PHC trust level with R2 = 0.14383.Conclusions: Public trust in PHC system in Iran needs to be improved. Individual variables had a small but key role in trust level. PHC trust cannot be only affected by individual's variables and experiences but also by health system and health providers' characteristics and public context in which PHC system exists. PHC trust level could be used as a public indicator in health systems especially in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) to contribute in system strengthening policies at the national and international levels.


Author(s):  
Anne S. Johansen ◽  
Amanda Shriwise ◽  
Daniel Lopez-Acuna ◽  
Pia Vracko

Abstract Aims: The aim of this paper is to introduce an operational checklist to serve as a tool for policymakers in the WHO European Region to strengthen primary health care (PHC) services and address the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively and to present the results from piloting the tool in Armenia. Backgrounds: PHC has the potential to play a fundamental role in countries’ responses to COVID-19. However, this potential remains unrealized in many countries. To assist countries, the WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a guidance document – Strengthening the Health Systems Response to COVID-19: Adapting Primary Health Care Services to more Effectively Address COVID-19 – that identifies strategic actions countries can take to strengthen their PHC response to the pandemic. Based on this guidance document, an operational checklist was developed to serve as a tool for policymakers to operationalize the recommended actions. Methods: The operational checklist was developed by transforming key points in the guidance document into questions in order to identify potentially modifiable factors to strengthen PHC in response to COVID-19. The operational checklist was then piloted in Armenia in June 2020 as part of a WHO mission to provide technical advice on strengthening Armenia’s PHC response to COVID-19. Two WHO experts performed semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with nine key informants (both facility managers and clinical staff) in three PHC facilities (two in a rural and one in an urban area). The data collected were analyzed to identify underlying challenges limiting PHC providers’ ability to effectively and efficiently respond to COVID-19 and maintain essential health services. Findings: The paper finds that making adjustments only to health services delivery will be insufficient to address most of the challenges identified by PHC providers in the context of COVID-19 in Armenia. In particular, strategic responses to the pandemic were missed, due, in part, to the absence of COVID-19 management teams at the facility level. Furthermore, the absence of PHC experts in Armenia’s national pandemic response team meant that health system issues identified at the facility level could not easily be communicated to or addressed by policymakers. The checklist therefore helps policymakers identify critical challenges – at both the facility and health system level – that need to be addressed to strengthen the PHC response to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 6) ◽  
pp. 2713-2719
Author(s):  
Daniela Cristina Moreira Marculino de Figueiredo ◽  
Helena Eri Shimizu ◽  
Walter Massa Ramalho ◽  
Alexandre Medeiros de Figueiredo ◽  
Kerle Dayana Tavares de Lucena

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the evaluation of patients that participated in the National Program for Improving the Access and Quality in Primary Health Care (Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade na Atenção Básica) for the comprehensive healthcare, the bond and the coordination of care in the country's macro-regions. Method: A descriptive, transversal study, from interviews with 65,391 patients of Primary Health Care, in 3,944 municipalities regarding the use of health services. Results: The professionals seek to solve the patients' problems in their unit (73.1%) but focused mainly on the scope of the appointment (65.6%) and offering care away from the population's reality (69.4%). Difficulties in the rescue of clinical history were referred (50.3%) and in the care performed in other health services (29.2%). Conclusion: The comprehensive health care, the bond and the coordination of care remain challenges to the Primary Health Care in the country, requiring reflections on the implementation of national policies, especially considering the regional diversities in Brazil.


1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemare Troskie

The Reconstruction and Development Plan as well as the National Health Plan of the ANC supports the reorganisation of health services. OpsommingDie Heropbou en Ontwikkelingsprogram sowel as die Nasionale Gesondheidsplan van die ANC staan die herorganisasie van gesondheidsdienste voor. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Borges Costa ◽  
C Salles Gazeta Vieira Fernandes ◽  
T Custódio Mota ◽  
E Torquato Santos ◽  
M Moura de Almeida ◽  
...  

Abstract The Alma-Ata Conference promoted Primary Health Care (PHC) worldwide as a form of universal and continuous access to quality and effective health services. In Brazil, PHC, through the Family Health Strategy (FHS), aims to be the gateway to the health system and its structuring axis. For this, it is necessary to promote access, an essential condition for the quality of health care services, following the attributes systematized by Barbara Starfield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the attribute “First Contact Access” on the perspective of adult users of public PHC services in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. A transversal study was carried out, in 19 PHC Units, from June to December 2019, using the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool) Brazil version for adult users. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. 233 users participated, mostly women (69.5%), aged 30 to 59 years old (55.3%), mixed-race (69.5%), with complete high school (38.2%), without private health coverage (89.3%), homeowners (68.7%) and belonging to families of up to 4 members (87.9%). The “Accessibility” component had the lowest score, 2.83, and the “Utilization” had the highest score, 8.06. Older age was associated with higher “Accessibility” scores (p = 0,018), while lower values of “Utilization” were associated with higher education (p = 0,004). The main problems observed were: low access for acute demand consultations, lack of access at nighttime and weekends, little access through non-personal ways, bureaucratic barriers and a long time for scheduling appointments. We conclude that, although there was an improvement in PHC coverage in the city over the years, mainly due to FHS, there is still a lot to improve to ensure timely access to health services. Key messages Users consider PHC as the usual source of care, demonstrated by the high score of 'Utilization', however, they are unable to use it when necessary, demonstrated by the low score of 'Accessibility'. Expanding forms of access is essential to contribute to the strengthening of PHC in Fortaleza, Brazil, facilitating the entry to its national Universal Health System.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Hajebi ◽  
Vandad Sharifi ◽  
Maryam Abbasinejad ◽  
Ali Asadi ◽  
Nahid Jafari ◽  
...  

Objective: The main objective of this study was to review aspects of the current situation and structure of the integrated mental health care services for planning a reform. Aspects of the newly designed infrastructure, along with specification of duties of the various human resources, and its relation with Iran’s Comprehensive Mental and Social Health Services (the SERAJ Program), will also be presented Method: This is a study on service design and three methods of literature review, deep interview with stakeholders, and focused group discussions. In the literature review, national and international official documents, including official reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) and consultant field visits, were reviewed. Deep semi-structured interviews with 9 stakeholders were performed and results were gathered and categorized into 3 main questions were analyzed using the responsibility and effectiveness matrix method. The Final results were discussed with experts, during which the main five-domain questions were asked and the experts’ opinions were observed. Results: In this study, the main gaps of the public mental health care (PHC) services in Iran were identified, which included reduction of risk factors for mental disorders, training the general population, early recognition and treatment of patients with mental disorders, educating patients and their families, and rehabilitation services. The new model was then proposed to fill these gaps focusing on increasing access, continuity of care, coordination in service delivery, and comprehensiveness of care. A mental health worker was placed besides general healthcare workers and general practitioners (GPs). Services were prioritized and the master flowchart for mental health service delivery was designed. Conclusion: A reform was indeed necessary in the integrated mental health services in Iran, but regarding the infrastructure needed for this reform, including human and financial resources, support of the senior authorities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) is necessary for the continuity and enhancement of services. In this model, attention has been given to the principles of integrating mental health services into primary health care. Current experience shows that the primary health care system has been facing many executive challenges, and mental health services are not exclusion to this issue. Monitoring and evaluation of this model of service and efforts for maintaining sustainable financial resources is recommended to make a reform in this system and to stabilize it.


Author(s):  
Hasan M. Reza ◽  
M. Abdul M. Sarkar

Background: The urbanization and urban growth is going through very rapid in Bangladesh. This growth is being fuelled by rising incomes due to rapid expansion of commerce and industry. The rapid and incessant growth of urbanization on Kushtia district is creating continuous pressure on urban health care services. Urban poor people are also a vital factor for promoting urban primary health care services delivery project (UPHCSDP) to provide health care facilities.Methods: A cross sectional survey was carried out among 576 patients in 3 selected urban primary health care centres in Kushtia Municipality with a major concentration of people residing in urban areas. Data were collected using questionnaires regarding type of care or treatment patients demanded and type of care they received from the clinic.Results: Study results showed that total of 46.5% of the subjects demanded maternal and obstetric health services and 8.6% demanded child health diagnosis and care. It was found that a total of 22.0% of the subjects received physical diagnosis from the centres. About 7.1% clients received advice or suggestions and 8.0% received normal delivery service from the centres.Conclusions: The result shows that these clinics provide a lot of health care services to the clients especially on maternal and child health care delivery system. These services are provided to the patient with less or free of cost. Study exhibited that the overall health care services of health care centres are good. The clients come to these centres for the good quality of treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Pallab K. Maulik ◽  
Sudha Kallakuri ◽  
Siddhardha Devarapalli

Background: There are large gaps in the delivery of mental health care in low- and middle-income countries such as India, and the problems are even more acute in rural settings due to lack of resources, remoteness, and lack of infrastructure, amongst other factors. The Systematic Medical Appraisal Referral and Treatment (SMART) Mental Health Project was conceived as a mental health services delivery model using technology-based solutions for rural India. This paper reports on the operational strategies used to facilitate the implementation of the intervention. Method: Key components of the SMART Mental Health Project included delivering an anti-stigma campaign, training of primary health workers in screening, diagnosing and managing stress, depression and increased suicide risk and task sharing of responsibilities in delivering care; and using mobile technology based electronic decision support systems to support delivery of algorithm based care for such disorders. The intervention was conducted in 42 villages across two sites in the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India. A pre-post mixed methods evaluation was done, and in this paper operational challenges are reported. Results: Both quantitative and qualitative results from the evaluation from one site covering about 5000 adults showed that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, and initial results indicated that it was beneficial in increasing access to mental health care and reducing depression and anxiety symptoms. A number of strategies were initiated in response to operational challenges to ensure smoother conduct of the project and facilitated the project to be delivered as envisaged. Conclusions: The operational strategies initiated for this project were successful in ensuring the delivery of the intervention. Those, coupled with other more systematic processes have informed the researchers to understand key processes that need to be in place to develop a more robust study, that could eventually be scaled up.


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