Primary healthcare services and patients with neoplastic disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-116
Author(s):  
K. Papastergiou ◽  
M. Lavdaniti

Introduction: The primary health care services holding the central role in the prevention of various diseases. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Primary healthcare services, holding a coordinating role in staging, treatment and prognosis of cancer. Purpose: To present the role of primary health care services in primary and secondary prevention of cancer. Materials and methods: A search was made in the PubMed and Scopus databases for reports on primary health care services in cancer patients. Results: Monitoring and early detection are some roles of care. The preventive medicine focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, helping people to enhance their own health. Specifically, majority of researches revealed that mammography ranged 44% to 69%. Also, the screening of cervical cancer by early examination of Pap smear, the percentage ranged 24% to 36%. The screening of prostate specific antigen (PSA) test ranged about 55%. The health professionalsfocused on individual, group and community interventions aimed at health promotion and prevention through programs and counseling. Conclusions: The interest of the fact that the primary care services have multidimensional roles for eliminating the occurrence of cancer. Prevention and health promotion programs, informing the population, campaigns on the part of health professionals for more frequent screening and early diagnosis in general symptoms of cancer, are fundamental principles of these services.

Author(s):  
Jiawei Zhang ◽  
Peien Han ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Jingyu Zhao ◽  
Li Yang

Primary health care has been emphasized as a pillar of China’s current round of health reforms throughout the previous decade. The purpose of this study is to analyze the accessibility of primary health care services in Beijing and to identify locations with a relative scarcity of health personnel. Seven ecological conservation districts, which are relatively underdeveloped, were selected in the study. The Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve, as well as the shortest trip time and modified two-step floating catchment area (M2SFCA) approach, are used to quantify inequalities in primary health care resources and spatial accessibility. The Gini coefficient of primary medical services was calculated as high as 0.705, showing a significant disparity in primary care services. A total of 81.22% of communities reached the nearest primary care institution within 15 min. The average accessibility of primary healthcare services, as measured by the number of health professionals per 1000 population, was 2.34 in the 1715 communities of seven ecological conservation districts. Three hundred and ninety-one communities (22.80%) were identified with relatively low accessibility. More primary health professionals should be allocated to Miyun, Mentougou, and Changping Districts. Overall, the primary healthcare resources were distributed unevenly in most districts. According to our study, expanding primary healthcare institutions, increasing the number of competent health professionals, and enhancing road networks will all be effective ways to increase spatial access and reduce primary healthcare service disparity in Beijing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Oliveira Miranda ◽  
P Santos Luis ◽  
M Sarmento

Abstract Background Primary health care services are the cornerstone of all health systems. Having clear data on allocated human resources is essential for planning. This work intended to map and compare the primary health care human resources of the five administrative regions (ARS) of the Portuguese public health system, so that better human resources management can be implemented. Methods The chosen design was a descriptive cross sectional study. Each of the five ARS were divided into primary health care clusters, which included several primary health care units. All of these units periodically sign a “commitment letter”, where they stand their service commitments to the covered population. This includes allocated health professionals (doctors, nurses), and the information is publicly accessible at www.bicsp.min-saude.pt. Data was collected for 2017, the year for which more commitment letters were available. Several ratios were calculated: patients/health professional; patients/doctor (family medicine specialists and residents); patients/nurse and patients/family medicine specialist. Mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were calculated. Results National patients/health professional ratio was 702 with the mean of the 5 ARS calculated at 674+-7.15% (min 619, max 734) whilst the national patients/doctor ratio was 1247 with the mean of the 5 ARS calculated at 1217+-7.17% (min 1074, max 1290). National patients/nurse ratio was 1607 with the mean of the 5 ARS calculated at 1529+-13.08% (min 1199, max 1701). Finally, national patients/family medicine specialist ratio was 1711 with the mean of the 5 ARS calculated at 1650+-6,36% (min 1551, max 1795). Conclusions Human resources were differently spread across Portugal, with variations between the five ARS in all ratios. The largest differences occur between nursing staff, and may translate into inequities of access, with impact on health results. A more homogeneous human resources allocation should be implemented. Key messages Human resources in the Portuguese primary health care services are not homogeneously allocated. A better and more homogeneous allocation of human resources should be implemented to reduce access health inequities.


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