BACKGROUND Primary health care (PHC) is widely regarded as essential for preventing and treating ill health. However, the evidence on whether improved PHC reduces hospitalisations has been mixed. This study examines the relationship between PHC and hospital inpatient care in a population with high health need, high rates of hospitalisation and relatively poor PHC access. METHODS The cross-sec...

BACKGROUND Lithuanian primary health care (PHC) is undergoing changes from the systems prevalent under the Soviet Union, which ensured free access to specialised health care. Currently four different PHC models work in parallel, which offers the opportunity to study their respective effect on referral rates. Our aim was to investigate whether there were differences in referrals rates from diffe...

BACKGROUND A usual source of care (USC) has been conceptualized as having a health provider or place available for patients to consult when sick or in need of medical care. Having a USC is a means to achieve longitudinality of care with Primary Health Care (PHC) providers. Brazil has made enormous progress in PHC and thus provides an important opportunity to investigate USC in a middle-income c...

Policy makers need to strengthen and revitalize primary health care (PHC) in Nigeria. This opinion aims to inform policy decisions and actions by examining the evolution of PHC in Nigeria, the role of Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti in the implementation of Alma Ata Declaration, the present state of PHC, the challenges and opportunities in implementing PHC in Nigeria, as well as ways to maximize...

BACKGROUND The high segmentation and fragmentation in the provision of services are some of the main problems of the Colombian health system. In 2004 the district government of Bogota decided to implement a Primary Health Care (PHC) strategy through the Home Health program. PHC was conceived as a model for transforming health care delivery within the network of the first-level public health car...

OBJECTIVE To find out how Estonian people evaluate the changes in primary health care (PHC), how they perceive the acceptability of the new PHC system, and to assess patients' satisfaction with their primary care doctor. DESIGN Face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires. SETTING Estonia. STUDY PARTICIPANTS A random sample of Estonian residents aged 15-74 years (n = 997). MA...

The aim of this integrative literature review was to analyse and synthesize findings from primary empirical studies concerning how nurses in primary care, care for people with diabetes (PWD). Diabetes is a recognized health priority in United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ). Health policies are directing a shift in diabetes services from secondary to primary care. New Zealand primary health c...

To examine ways of ensuring access to health services within the framework of primary health care (PHC), since the goal of PHC to make universal health care available to all people has become increasingly neglected amid emerging themes of globalization, trade, and foreign policy. From a public health point of view, we argue that the premise of PHC can unlock barriers to health care services and...

Based on the principles of primary health care as outlined by WHO / UNICEF at the Alma Ata conference, in the Soviet Union in 1978, many developing countries including India, have been formulating organizing and experimenting with primary health care (PHC) programmes both in the public and private voluntary sectors. So far in India, the Government’s centralized health care services using modern...

This article assesses 36 peer-reviewed studies of the impact of primary healthcare (PHC) on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Studies were abstracted and assessed according to where they took place, the research design used, target population, primary care measures, and overall conclusions. Results indicate that the bulk of evidence for PHC effectiveness is focused on infant ...