Primary health care (PHC) is recognised as an efficient, effective and equitable approach to health service delivery and successful PHC is integral to a sustainable and accountable healthcare system, and ultimately improved population health outcomes. Internationally there is a move towards strengthening and improving the quality of PHC. Nowhere is this more important than in rural and remote a...

BACKGROUND Measuring primary care is important for health sector reform. The Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) measures performance of elements essential for cost-effective care. Following minor adaptations prior to use in Cape Town in 2011, a few findings indicated a need to improve the content and cross-cultural validity for wider use in South Africa (SA). AIM This study aimed to validate...

Abstract Background Old age mental healthcare is an issue that cuts across old age, general health, and policies. While strengthening the primary system in India a common strategy policy fields to improve health of older persons, very little known about system’s planned architecture. This study explores public strategies for approaches focusing on (PHC) level role family. Methods A document ana...

There is a shortage of human resources in Africa but also poor management by governments with poor working environments and career paths in primary care1 and maldistribution of healthcare professionals. Post-apartheid South Africa saw black nurses moved out of hospitals dominated by white doctors to ‘nurse-driven’ district health services, citing ‘doctor shortage’. The government has struggled ...

OBJECTIVES As little is known about hearing screening practices at primary healthcare (PHC) clinics in South Africa, the study aimed to describe hearing-screening and record-keeping practices of nurses during typical immunisation sessions at PHC clinics in Gauteng, South Africa. METHODS Data were obtained through observations (N2 = 80) and questionnaires (N1 = 20) which were then cross-checke...

This study comprises a systematic review and metasynthesis of qualitative literature on national and international databases to identify the main tools used to assess Primary Health Care (PHC). A total of 3,048 results were returned for literature written in Portuguese, Spanish and English published between 1979 and 2013. Thirty-three articles/studies were selected after thorough reading and an...

INTRODUCTION South Africa is a middle-income country with serious socioeconomic risk factors for mental illness. Of its population of 52 million, 53% live below the poverty line, 24% are unemployed and 11% live with HIV/AIDS, all of which are factors associated with an increased burden of neuropsychiatric disease. The negative social implications due to the mortality caused by AIDS are immense:...

The sustainability of primary healthcare (PHC) worldwide has been challenged by a global shortage in human resources for health (HRH). This study is a unique attempt at systematically soliciting and synthesising the voice of PHC and community stakeholders on the HRH recruitment and retention strategies at the PHC sector in Lebanon, the obstacles and challenges hindering their optimisation and t...

BACKGROUND Long-distance truck drivers are occupationally susceptible to poor health outcomes. Their patterns of healthcare utilisation and the suitability of healthcare services available to them are not well documented. We report on truck driver healthcare utilisation across South Africa and characterise the client population of the clinics serving them for future service development. METHO...