TITLE:
Role of Primary Care in Health Systems Strengthening Achievements, Challenges, and Suggestions
AUTHORS:
Saymaa Selman, Lamisa Siddique
KEYWORDS:
Primary Care, Health Systems Strengthening, Global Health, Astana Declaration, Covid-19, Multi-Disciplinary Care
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.10,
September
29,
2022
ABSTRACT: Primary health care (PHC) is critical in working
towards universal health coverage and meeting health-related Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) targets, especially
in areas where health resources are limited. Although progress on SDG
health targets is inconsistent and slow in many areas of the world, there is substantial research that attention to PHC can
improve SDG attainment outcomes and contribute to strengthening health
systems. A PHC approach to health systems strengthening can achieve this by
maximising the availability and distribution of healthcare focused on meeting
individual and community health needs along
the continuum of life. This includes health promotion, disease
prevention, diagnosis, treatment and treatment coordination, rehabilitation,
mental health, and end-of-life care, which is conveniently located within easy
access to individual’s everyday environment and without causing significant
disruption to day-to-day life. As such, PHC places particular emphasis on
integrating primary health practitioners in the wider public health systems, thereby making them the first
point of call in seeking non-urgent health information. This, in
practice, also allows PHC practitioners to coordinate care and focus on the
long-term care of the whole patient and their families. This paper will outline
the role of PHC in practically achieving this, as well as the strategic and operational players needed to
support community focused comprehensive PHC, with mention to the more
recent challenge of responding to a global pandemic while continuing to invest
in resilient health systems built on a supported PHC frontline.