Contribution of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services to improving Aboriginal health: an evidence review

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Ann Campbell ◽  
Jennifer Hunt ◽  
David J. Scrimgeour ◽  
Maureen Davey ◽  
Victoria Jones
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Primary Health

Objective Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) deliver comprehensive, culturally appropriate primary health care to Aboriginal people and communities. The published literature acknowledging and supporting the roles of ACCHSs in improving Aboriginal health is limited. This paper seeks to collate and analyse the published evidence supporting the contribution of ACCHSs to improving the health of Aboriginal people. Methods A conceptual framework for exploring the contribution of ACCHSs was developed, drawing on the literature on the core functions of ACCHSs and the components of quality primary health care. This framework was used to structure the search strategy, inclusion criteria and analysis of the review. Results ACCHSs contribute to improving the health and well being of Aboriginal peoples through several pathways, including community controlled governance, providing employment and training, strengthening the broader health system and providing accessible, comprehensive primary health care. Conclusions ACCHSs make a range of important contributions to improving the health of Aboriginal peoples that are under-acknowledged. Consideration of the different ways ACCHSs contribute to improving Aboriginal health is of value in the design and evaluation of programs and policies that aim to improve the health of Aboriginal peoples. What is known about the topic? Aboriginal communities have long argued the vital role of ACCHSs in improving Aboriginal health. What does this paper add? This paper provides a comprehensive collation and analysis of the evidence supporting the contributions ACCHSs are making to improving Aboriginal health. What are the implications for practitioners? The conceptual framework and findings outlined in this paper illustrate that ACCHSs are making important contributions to improving Aboriginal health through several pathways. This information can be used to ensure actions to improve Aboriginal health are appropriate and effective. There are important gaps in the literature that researchers need to address.

Knowledge, Language and Mortality: Communicating Health Information in Aboriginal Communities in the Northern Territory

1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarun Weeramanthri
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Medical Issues ◽  
Communicative Practice

Here the difficulties that non-Aboriginal health professionals experience in discussing health information with Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory are considered. Communication of information is seen as critical to the process of primary health care but beset by problems of language, different ways of 'knowing' and different values. Specific examples of communication difficulties are given from a five year research project that focused on the social and medical issues behind a series of adult Aboriginal deaths. The purpose of providing information at a community level is two-fold: first, to demystify an issue, process or structure and second, to get people talking. It is useful in communicative practice to view health information as having two equally important components: statistics and stories. All statistics are built up from individual stories, and effective information programs incorporate the story approach. Suggestions are made as to how primary health care practitioners can improve their communication practices. Before practitioners ask 'What do people need?' or 'What are their problems and how can they be addressed?', they need to ask first 'What do people know?' and second 'What do people value?'

scholarly journals Finnish e-health services intended for citizens – national and regional development

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronja Ruotanen ◽  
Maarit Kangas ◽  
Timo Tuovinen ◽  
Niina Keränen ◽  
Jari Haverinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Medical Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Remote Consultation ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Service Sectors

Electronic health care (e-health) services intended for Finnish citizens have been recently developed nationally, regionally, and locally through several projects and programs. This study aimed to investigate the development and availability of e-health services for Finnish citizens in specialized and primary health care and private medical service providers from 2011 to 2020. In addition, the differences between the availability of services in different sectors and regional differences between hospital districts were investigated. Data were collected using web-based questionnaires in 2011, 2014, 2017, and 2020 from “Use of information and communication technology surveys in Finnish health care”. This study covers all 21 hospital districts, nearly all primary health care centers, and a sample of private medical service providers. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 25). The availability of an e-health service was calculated as a percentage of all respondents in each sector. The results of this study show that public and private health care organizations extensively offered health care services on their websites. Almost all organizations had information on well-being, provided services, contact methods, and locations, as well as options to send electronic feedback. Remote consultation, electronic appointment booking services, and telephone counseling were also extensively offered. This study revealed that the volume of e-health services increased from 2011 to 2020. For instance, remote consultation services and information exchange through encrypted email increased rapidly during follow-up periods in all service sectors. Comparing service sectors revealed that specialized health care covers e-health services more extensively than do primary health care and private service providers. According to this study, there are also clear differences in the availability of services between hospital districts and no hospital district offered all studied services. These results suggest the need to clarify national and regional development responsibilities and standardize the availability of e-health services within and between hospital districts.

Quality of life and adherence to mediterranean diet among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients of a primary health care clinic in Hebron city, Palestine

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Manal Badrasawi ◽  
May Hamdan ◽  
Mohammad Al Tamimi
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Primary Health Care Clinic ◽  
Primary Health

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a lifelong metabolic disease with a high rate of mortality and morbidity. Uncontrolled and untreated diabetes results in serious complications that subsequently cause patients’ quality of life (QoL) to deteriorate. Adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) may relieve the complications of diabetes, thereby improving the quality of life for these patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the QoL of DM patients who adhered to MD. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we examined the QoL and MD data of 106 DM II patients being treated at a primary health care clinic in Hebron. We used the SF-36 questionnaire to measure the patients’ QoL and the MEDAS tool to assess their MD adherence. We also recorded their anthropometric measurements, abdominal obesity, lifestyle habits and blood biochemical results. RESULTS: The sample comprised male and female DM II patients between the ages of 35 and 72, with their mean age being 55.8±10.24. Patients’ QoL scores showed a significant relationship with three BMI categories, i.e., total QoL score, physical function, and pain domains (p <  0.05). In terms of diet, high adherence to MD had a positive impact on all domains and on patients’ total QoL with significant differences in physical functioning, emotional well-being, social functioning and pain domains. CONCLUSION: Patients’ QoL domains were relatively low and highly affected by DM II. Patients with greater MD adherence reported higher scores in all QoL domains. Significantly higher scores were noted for the physical, social and pain domains. Hence, MD is a recommended dietary pattern for DM II patients to achieve a better QoL.

Nursing Profession’s Contribution to Person- and People-Centered Primary Health Care

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-203
Author(s):  
Yukiko Kusano ◽  
Erica Ehrhardt
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Workforce Planning ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
Integration Of Care ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Strategic Role

Background: Equity and access to primary health care (PHC) services, particularly nursing services, are key to improving the health and well-being of all people. Nurses, as the largest group of healthcare professionals delivering services wherever people are, have a unique opportunity to put people at the centre of care, making services more effective, efficient and equitable.Objectives: To assess contributions of nurses to person and people-centered PHC. Methods: Analysis of nursing contributions under each of the four sets of the PHC reforms set by the World Health Organization.Results: Evidence and examples of nursing contributions are found in all of the four PHC reform areas. These include: expanding access;addressing problems through prevention; coordination and integration of care; and supporting the development of appropriate, effective and healthy public policies; and linking field-based innovations and policy development to inform evidence-based policy decision making.Conclusions:Nurses have significant contributions in each of the four PHC reform areas. The focus of nursing care on people-centeredness, continuity of care, comprehensiveness and integration of services, which are fundamental to holistic care, is an essential contribution of nurses to people-centered PHC. Nurses’ contributions can be optimised through positive practice environments, appropriate workforce planning and implementation andadequate education and quality control though strong regulatory principles and frameworks. People-centered approaches need to be considered both in health and non-health sectors as part of people-centered society. A strategic role of nurses as partners in services planning and decision-making is one of the key elements to achieve people-centered PHC.

scholarly journals Quality of Primary Health Care in Brazil: patients'view

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (suppl 6) ◽  
pp. 2713-2719
Author(s):  
Daniela Cristina Moreira Marculino de Figueiredo ◽  
Helena Eri Shimizu ◽  
Walter Massa Ramalho ◽  
Alexandre Medeiros de Figueiredo ◽  
Kerle Dayana Tavares de Lucena
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Coordination Of Care ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Comprehensive Health ◽  
Access And Quality ◽  
Transversal Study

ABSTRACT Objective: To describe the evaluation of patients that participated in the National Program for Improving the Access and Quality in Primary Health Care (Programa Nacional de Melhoria do Acesso e da Qualidade na Atenção Básica) for the comprehensive healthcare, the bond and the coordination of care in the country's macro-regions. Method: A descriptive, transversal study, from interviews with 65,391 patients of Primary Health Care, in 3,944 municipalities regarding the use of health services. Results: The professionals seek to solve the patients' problems in their unit (73.1%) but focused mainly on the scope of the appointment (65.6%) and offering care away from the population's reality (69.4%). Difficulties in the rescue of clinical history were referred (50.3%) and in the care performed in other health services (29.2%). Conclusion: The comprehensive health care, the bond and the coordination of care remain challenges to the Primary Health Care in the country, requiring reflections on the implementation of national policies, especially considering the regional diversities in Brazil.

scholarly journals The role of health care workers in collaborating with traditional healers in primary health care. Part 1

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemare Troskie
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Plan ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Care Workers

The Reconstruction and Development Plan as well as the National Health Plan of the ANC supports the reorganisation of health services. OpsommingDie Heropbou en Ontwikkelingsprogram sowel as die Nasionale Gesondheidsplan van die ANC staan die herorganisasie van gesondheidsdienste voor. *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Access on the perspective of adult users of Primary Health Care in Fortaleza, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Borges Costa ◽  
C Salles Gazeta Vieira Fernandes ◽  
T Custódio Mota ◽  
E Torquato Santos ◽  
M Moura de Almeida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health System ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Health Coverage ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Care Assessment ◽  
The City

Abstract The Alma-Ata Conference promoted Primary Health Care (PHC) worldwide as a form of universal and continuous access to quality and effective health services. In Brazil, PHC, through the Family Health Strategy (FHS), aims to be the gateway to the health system and its structuring axis. For this, it is necessary to promote access, an essential condition for the quality of health care services, following the attributes systematized by Barbara Starfield. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the attribute “First Contact Access” on the perspective of adult users of public PHC services in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. A transversal study was carried out, in 19 PHC Units, from June to December 2019, using the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool) Brazil version for adult users. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis. 233 users participated, mostly women (69.5%), aged 30 to 59 years old (55.3%), mixed-race (69.5%), with complete high school (38.2%), without private health coverage (89.3%), homeowners (68.7%) and belonging to families of up to 4 members (87.9%). The “Accessibility” component had the lowest score, 2.83, and the “Utilization” had the highest score, 8.06. Older age was associated with higher “Accessibility” scores (p = 0,018), while lower values of “Utilization” were associated with higher education (p = 0,004). The main problems observed were: low access for acute demand consultations, lack of access at nighttime and weekends, little access through non-personal ways, bureaucratic barriers and a long time for scheduling appointments. We conclude that, although there was an improvement in PHC coverage in the city over the years, mainly due to FHS, there is still a lot to improve to ensure timely access to health services. Key messages Users consider PHC as the usual source of care, demonstrated by the high score of 'Utilization', however, they are unable to use it when necessary, demonstrated by the low score of 'Accessibility'. Expanding forms of access is essential to contribute to the strengthening of PHC in Fortaleza, Brazil, facilitating the entry to its national Universal Health System.

scholarly journals Integrating Mental Health Services into the Primary Health Care System: The Need for Reform in Iran

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Hajebi ◽  
Vandad Sharifi ◽  
Maryam Abbasinejad ◽  
Ali Asadi ◽  
Nahid Jafari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Primary Health Care System ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Integrated Mental Health

Objective: The main objective of this study was to review aspects of the current situation and structure of the integrated mental health care services for planning a reform. Aspects of the newly designed infrastructure, along with specification of duties of the various human resources, and its relation with Iran’s Comprehensive Mental and Social Health Services (the SERAJ Program), will also be presented Method: This is a study on service design and three methods of literature review, deep interview with stakeholders, and focused group discussions. In the literature review, national and international official documents, including official reports of the World Health Organization (WHO) and consultant field visits, were reviewed. Deep semi-structured interviews with 9 stakeholders were performed and results were gathered and categorized into 3 main questions were analyzed using the responsibility and effectiveness matrix method. The Final results were discussed with experts, during which the main five-domain questions were asked and the experts’ opinions were observed. Results: In this study, the main gaps of the public mental health care (PHC) services in Iran were identified, which included reduction of risk factors for mental disorders, training the general population, early recognition and treatment of patients with mental disorders, educating patients and their families, and rehabilitation services. The new model was then proposed to fill these gaps focusing on increasing access, continuity of care, coordination in service delivery, and comprehensiveness of care. A mental health worker was placed besides general healthcare workers and general practitioners (GPs). Services were prioritized and the master flowchart for mental health service delivery was designed. Conclusion: A reform was indeed necessary in the integrated mental health services in Iran, but regarding the infrastructure needed for this reform, including human and financial resources, support of the senior authorities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) is necessary for the continuity and enhancement of services. In this model, attention has been given to the principles of integrating mental health services into primary health care. Current experience shows that the primary health care system has been facing many executive challenges, and mental health services are not exclusion to this issue. Monitoring and evaluation of this model of service and efforts for maintaining sustainable financial resources is recommended to make a reform in this system and to stabilize it.

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