Primary health care
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Primary health care, often abbreviated as PHC, is
"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"[1] (Alma Ata international conference definition)
It was a new approach to health care that came into existence following this international conference in Alma Ata in 1978 organized by the World Health Organisation and the UNICEF.
Primary health care was accepted by the member countries of WHO as the key to achieving the goal of Health for all.
As people all over the world people become more and more frustrated at the the inability of today's health systems and services to meet their needs, demand for a renewal of primary health care - and health for all - is increasing.
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[edit] Four Essential components of primary health care
Universal coverage By ensuring sufficient supply of medicines and services; removing financial barriers to access and ensuring social health protection
People-centred care By transforming traditional healthcare delivery models (specialist, procedure or hospital-based) into people-centred primary care networks
Inclusive leadership By shifting from conventional "command-and-control" approaches, increasing participation of all stakeholders and moving from supply-led to demand-led policies and programmes
Health in all policies By ensuring that all relevant sectors (e.g. labour, environment, education) factor health into their agendas.
[edit] References
- WHO (1978). "Alma Ata 1978: Primary Health Care". HFA Sr. (1).
- McGilvray, James C. (1981). The Quest for Health and Wholeness. Tübingen: German Institute for Medical Missions. ISBN 0728900149.
- Socrates Litsios. The Long and Difficult Road to Alma-Ata: A Personal Reflection. 32. pp. 709-732. PMID 12456122.
- Socrates Litsios (November 1994). "The Christian Medical Commission and the Development of WHO's Primary Health Care Approach". American Journal of Public Health (11): 1884-1893. PMID 15514223.
- WHO (2008). The World Health Report 2008: Primary Health Care, Now More Than Ever. http://www.who.int/whr/2008/en/index.html.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Declaration of Alma-Ata.
- Declaration of Alma-Ata at the Center for a World in Balance.
- People's Charter for Health at the Center for a World in Balance.
- WHO: Health care outside hospital accessing generalist and specialist care in eight countries.
- Resources on PHC
