Abstract
BackgroundPerson-centred, re-engineered primary health care (PHC) is a national and global priority. Faith-based health care is a significant provider of PHC in sub-Saharan Africa, but there is limited published data on the reasons for patient choice of faith-based health care, particularly in South Africa.AimThe primary objective was to determine and explore the reasons for patient choice of a faith-based primary care clinic over their local public sector primary care clinic, and secondarily to determine to what extent these reasons were influenced by demography.SettingThe study was conducted at Jubilee Health Centre (JHC), a faith-based primary care clinic attached to Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town, South Africa.MethodsFocus groups, using the nominal group technique, were conducted with JHC patients and used to generate ranked reasons for attending the clinic. These were collated into the top 15 reasons and incorporated into a quantitative questionnaire which was administered to adult patients attending JHC.ResultsA total of 164 patients were surveyed (a response rate of 92.4%) of which 68.3% were female and 57.9% from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Of patients surveyed, 98.2% chose to attend JHC because ‘the staff treat me with respect’, 96.3% because ‘the staff are friendly’ and 96.3% because ‘the staff take time to listen to me’. The reason ‘it is a Christian clinic’ was chosen by 70.1% of patients. ‘The staff speak my home language’ was given as a reason by 61.1% of DRC patients and 37.1% of South African patients. ‘The clinic is close to me’ was chosen by 66.6% of Muslims and 40.8% of Christians.ConclusionPatients chose to attend JHC (a faith-based primary care clinic) because of the quality of care received. They emphasised the staff–patient relationship and patient-centredness rather than the clinic’s religious practices (prayer with patients). These findings may be important in informing efforts to improve public sector primary care.
Highlights
Person-centred, re-engineered primary health care (PHC) is a national and global priority
Six participants were recruited for the Jubilee Health Centre (JHC) staff focus group, 10 in the Francophone African focus group and 9 in the South African focus group
The staff focus group produced 28 responses to the question ‘what are some of the reasons why you have chosen to attend Jubilee Health Centre?’ The Francophone African focus group resulted in 19 responses and the South African focus group provided 36 responses
Summary
Person-centred, re-engineered primary health care (PHC) is a national and global priority. In 2009, the World Health Organization issued a World Health Report calling for the renewal of primary health care (PHC).[1] The report highlighted the failure of countries to adhere to comprehensive PHC as per the Alma Ata declaration and called for four sets of PHC reforms, the second of which is relevant to this research: to reorganise health services around ‘people’s needs and expectations, so as to make them more socially relevant and more responsive to the changing world’.1 This reform is further driven by the concept of person-centred care embedded in the World Health Organization in its 2007 Policy Framework.[2] Person-centred health care is described as a health system which is designed around the needs of the stakeholders and in which individuals and communities are ‘served by and able to participate in trusted health systems that respond to their needs in humane and holistic ways’.2. Faith-based facilities account for a significant proportion of health care in many African countries, sometimes providing between 30% and 40% of hospital beds.[7,8] They are active in the most rural of communities as well as in urban areas, and are http://www.phcfm.org
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
