Integration Of Primary Health Care Research Articles

The Need for a Public Health Competency-Based Education for Integrative Health Care

Integrative health care (IH) is an approach to health that utilizes biomedical and social determinants of health to promote health and prevent disease, focusing on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, and utilizing not only the clinician–patient relationship but also how the family and community contribute to health promotion and disease. IH is a nascent area of practice within public health training. However, many people with a graduate degree in public health have a clinical profession that contributes to integrative primary health. To support the development of a competency-based education for IH, the National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare convened an interprofessional leadership team to develop 10 “meta-competencies” in integrative primary health care. Following the development of the meta-competencies, individual members of the leadership team worked with colleagues within their profession to develop subcompetencies for specific professions for each meta-competency, including public health. The meta-competencies and public health subcompetencies were used to develop an online 33-hour introductory IH course: “Foundations in Integrative Health.” The public health subcompetencies were used to guide the development of a case study for a 6-hour unit, “Interprofessional Practice in Community Settings and Systems at Large,” on how to conduct and utilize a community health assessment that focused on health equity issues related to diabetes, which can also be taken as a stand-alone course.

Sixteen years of primary health care monitoring in a large metropolis in the AmericasDieciséis años de monitoreo en salud en la atención primaria en una gran metrópolis de las Américas

RESUMOO presente artigo relata a institucionalização do monitoramento de indicadores sobre o desempenho da atenção primária à saúde (APS) em uma grande metrópole das Américas, com 7 milhões de usuários no sistema público de saúde. A partir da experiência de desenvolvimento e uso, há 16 anos, do Painel de Monitoramento da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de São Paulo, foi desenvolvido o Painel de Gestão da Atenção Básica, fornecendo um conjunto de indicadores selecionados sobre o comportamento desse nível de atenção ao longo do tempo. O Painel de Gestão foi incorporado à reorganização da governança, envolvendo dirigentes e técnicos dos diversos níveis, capacitados com um método de cogestão de organizações, com apoio da Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde/Organização Mundial da Saúde (OPAS/OMS). A experiência de uso desse Painel de Gestão aumentou também a efetividade na comunicação das informações do Painel de Monitoramento, apoiando a implementação de mudanças no modelo de organização para consolidar os atributos de acesso, longitudinalidade, integralidade e coordenação do cuidado na APS. A robustez da série histórica dos dados e o envolvimento dos implementadores dessa iniciativa fortaleceram a confiança das equipes na utilização das informações geradas. A metodologia de monitoramento captou mudanças no período em análise, orientando os envolvidos quanto às diferenças entre regiões intramunicipais. O monitoramento é prática que possibilita a utilização ágil e oportuna de dados secundários, fundamental para o enfrentamento dos problemas evidenciados.

Operational integration in primary health care: patient encounters and workflows

BackgroundDespite several countrywide attempts to strengthen and standardise the primary healthcare (PHC) system, Greece is still lacking a sustainable, policy-based model of integrated services. The aim of our study was to identify operational integration levels through existing patient care pathways and to recommend an alternative PHC model for optimum integration.MethodsThe study was part of a large state-funded project, which included 22 randomly selected PHC units located across two health regions of Greece. Dimensions of operational integration in PHC were selected based on the work of Kringos and colleagues. A five-point Likert-type scale, coupled with an algorithm, was used to capture and transform theoretical framework features into measurable attributes. PHC services were grouped under the main categories of chronic care, urgent/acute care, preventive care, and home care. A web-based platform was used to assess patient pathways, evaluate integration levels and propose improvement actions. Analysis relied on a comparison of actual pathways versus optimal, the latter ones having been identified through literature review.ResultsOverall integration varied among units. The majority (57%) of units corresponded to a basic level. Integration by type of PHC service ranged as follows: basic (86%) or poor (14%) for chronic care units, poor (78%) or basic (22%) for urgent/acute care units, basic (50%) for preventive care units, and partial or basic (50%) for home care units. The actual pathways across all four categories of PHC services differed from those captured in the optimum integration model. Certain similarities were observed in the operational flows between chronic care management and urgent/acute care management. Such similarities were present at the highest level of abstraction, but also in common steps along the operational flows.ConclusionsExisting patient care pathways were mapped and analysed, and recommendations for an optimum integration PHC model were made. The developed web platform, based on a strong theoretical framework, can serve as a robust integration evaluation tool. This could be a first step towards restructuring and improving PHC services within a financially restrained environment.

Essential Elements of a Collaborative Mental Health Training Program for Primary Care.

Mental health integration in primary care is based on creating an environment that encourages collaboration and supports appropriate care for patients and families while offering a full range of services. Training programs for primary care practitioners should include sessions on how to build and maintain such a practice along with information on basic mental health competencies.

Mobile health clinic for the medical management of clinical sequelae experienced by survivors of the 2013-2016 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

An Ebola survivor Mobile Health Clinic (MHC) was established to implement lasting changes in communities it operates by providing effective and efficient mobile healthcare. After months of development, the MHC solution was operationalised in February 2015, aiming to provide integrated primary healthcare services to address the medical and psychosocial needs of Ebola virus (EBOV) survivors living in areas with low medical coverage. A total of 910 medical consultations for 246 EBOV survivors were performed between 7 February 2015 and 10 June 2016. Females constituted 148 (60.2%) whereas 6 (2.44%) were children under 5years of age. The most common complication was arthralgia 185 (75.2%), headache 98 (39.8%), abdominal pain 167 (68%), myalgia 182 (73.6%), and skin disease 25 (10%). Moreover, ocular problems were diagnosed in 84 survivors (34.1%), and 60 (24.4%) suffered from psycho-trauma. Some 16 female survivors (10.8%) had miscarriages, whereas 9 (6.1%) had complaints of oligomenorrhea, 7 (4.7%) loss of sexual desire and 4 (2.7%) premature menopause. Five male survivors (5.1%) reported erectile dysfunction and 10 (10.2%) loss of sexual desire. At least 221 (89.8%) reported more than one complication. Other infectious diseases were common and no clinically relevant differences were established from haematology and clinical biochemistry laboratory results. Ibuprofen, paracetamol, anti-malaria drugs and antibiotics were the most common medicines prescribed. Community participation is critical for implantation of MHC among EBOV survivors. Future strategies for the mobile clinics should include enrolment of survivors at discharge from treatment centres with close monitoring follow-up activities, to address sequelae as they arise, to reduce the potential for development of long-term disabilities.

Acolhimento de imigrantes haitianos via integração ensino-serviço-pesquisa na atenção primária à saúde: relato de experiência

Este artigo objetiva relatar a experiência do acolhimento a uma comunidade de imigrantes haitianos pela Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) no âmbito do ‘Internato de Atenção Integral à Saúde’ do curso de Medicina da Unifenas - BH. A experiência ocorreu no Centro de Saúde Novo Aarão Reis (CSNAR) mediante estratégia multifacetada de acolhimento do serviço composta por: 1) interlocução com entidade de apoio a imigrantes, o Centro Zanmi; 2) busca ativa e visitas domiciliares pela agente comunitária de saúde e internas de medicina, 3) aplicação de questionário; 4) apresentação dos resultados à comunidade de imigrantes haitianos, aos profissionais de saúde do CSNAR, à comunidade acadêmica da Unifenas - BH e a outros membros da comunidade interessados. Pelo contato com os primeiros haitianos identificados na comunidade, e por meio de busca ativa, outros foram encontrados e incluídos no estudo. Em conjunto com a aplicação dos questionários, foi possível avaliar o contexto em que estes se encontravam e, assim, buscar nas ferramentas da APS e do território formas de incluir esses imigrantes na comunidade e auxiliá-los em suas demandas. Este processo permitiu acolher a comunidade de imigrantes haitianos no CSNAR, otimizar seu cadastro no Sistema Único de Saúde, sensibilizar os profissionais de saúde para a importância do desenvolvimento de competência cultural e oportunizar intercâmbio de conhecimentos sobre o sistema de saúde haitiano e brasileiro.

Grau de integração da Atenção Primária à Saúde de município de pequeno porte na Rede de Atenção à Saúde

Resumo A integração da atenção à saúde tem representado importante desafio na prestação de cuidados à saúde. Mas, estudos brasileiros ainda não a avaliaram de forma objetiva e consideraram, apenas, o contexto de grandes municípios em suas análises. Diante disso, o objetivo deste estudo foi mensurar o grau de integração (GI) da Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) na Rede de Atenção à Saúde (RAS) em município de pequeno porte. Para tal, elaborou-se, a partir da literatura científica e de recomendações técnicas sobre o tema, uma matriz com 25 indicadores, acompanhados dos respectivos parâmetros de avaliação e pontuados com zero a três pontos. Para responder aos indicadores, pontuando-os, questionários foram aplicados a profissionais de saúde. Além disso, formulários de encaminhamentos para consultas e exames especializados na RAS foram analisados. A partir da pontuação atribuída aos indicadores, o GI foi calculado pela relação entre a soma dos pontos recebidos e o total de pontos esperados, multiplicado por 10. A extensão do GI foi interpretada considerando a integração como um contínuo. Os resultados evidenciaram pontuação média por indicador muito baixa. O GI atingiu o escore 3,86, indicando pouca integração da APS na RAS, revelando indicadores críticos e dificuldades para a integração em município de pequeno porte.

Beliefs and perception of ill-health causation: a socio-cultural qualitative study in rural North-Eastern Ethiopia

BackgroundUnderstanding perceptions of the causes of ill-health common in indigenous communities may help policy makers to design effective integrated primary health care strategies to serve these communities. This study explored the indigenous beliefs of ill-health causation among those living in the Tehuledere Woreda /district/ in North East Ethiopia from a socio-cultural perspective.MethodsThe study employed a qualitative ethnographic method informed by Murdock’s Theory of Illness. Participatory observation, over a total of 5 months during the span of one year, was supplemented by focus group discussions (n = 96 participants in 10 groups) and in-depth interviews (n = 20) conducted with key informants. Data were analyzed thematically using narrative strategies.ResultsIn these communities, illness is perceived to have supernatural (e.g., almighty God/ Allah, nature spirits, and human agents of the supernatural), natural (e.g., environmental sanitation and personal hygiene, poverty, biological and psychological factors) and societal causes (e.g., social trust, experiences of family support and harmony; and violation of social taboos). Therefore, the explanatory model of illness causation in this community was very similar to that of the Murdock model with one key difference: social elements need to be added to the model.ConclusionMembers of the study community believes that supernatural, natural and social elements are linked to ill-health causation. A successful integrated primary health care strategy should include strategies for supporting patients’ needs in all three of these domains.

A philosophy for behavioral health integration in primary care.

In response to a call for a philosophy that transcends the professional boundaries that threaten behavioral health integration in primary care, this essay explores the thesis that such a philosophy exists in medicine's core purpose. Drawing on the work of Eric Cassell, a philosophy may be determined that melds the values, themes, and constructs of individual models for behavioral health integration in primary care toward a single, overriding purpose. Effecting such integration challenges current trends in medicine by refocusing medicine on its ethical core. (PsycINFO Database Record

Experiencing integration in Australian primary health care: a pilot study

Experiencing integration in Australian primary health care: a pilot study

Putting Institutions at the Center of Primary Health Care Reforms: Experience from Implementation in Three States in Nigeria

—Within the last two decades, the Nigerian government has committed to strengthening its primary health care system, through reforms addressing institutional restructuring, deepening decentralized governance, and the incorporation of an alternative health care financing strategy. One of these reforms prescribed the establishment of state primary health care agencies/boards (SPHCDBs) as an integral part of the national health system, with the principal responsibility “for the coordination of planning, budgeting, provision and monitoring of all primary health care services that affect residents of the state.” Central to this reform is the integration of primary health care (PHC) governance and management, popularly called primary health care under one roof. Another reform, piloting results-based financing, has been implemented since 2011 in three states under the Nigeria State Health Investment Project. This study assesses the implementation of the Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) policy as part of the broader PHC reforms, with a specific focus on how this policy has been strengthened through the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP) in Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Ondo states, documenting the evolution of SPHCDB and PHC service delivery, with a focus on management, accountability, and incentives. The study shows that, in the above-mentioned states, significant milestones were achieved in the establishment of the SPHCDB, the strengthening of PHC systems, the improvement of accountability linkages, and an increase in service utilization. The authors therefore argue that integrated PHC systems through SPHCDBs, as enshrined in the PHCUOR guidelines, are a panacea for effective provision of primary health care and a potential game changer for health outcomes, especially when reinforced with a results-based financing approach.

Managing Depression among Diverse Older Adults in Primary Care: The BRIGHTEN Program

ABSTRACTObjectives: A variety of specific cultural adaptations have been proposed for older adult and minority mental health interventions. The objective of this study was to determine whether the BRIGHTEN Program, an individually tailored, interdisciplinary “virtual” team intervention, would equally meet the needs of a highly diverse sample of older adults with depression.Methods: Older adults who screened positive for depression were recruited from primary and specialty care settings to participate in the BRIGHTEN program. A secondary data analysis of 131 older adults (37.4% African-American, 29.0% Hispanic, 29.8% Non-Hispanic White) was conducted to explore the effects of demographic variables (race/ethnicity, income and education) on treatment outcome.Results: Compared to baseline, participants demonstrated significant improvements on the SF-12 Mental Health Composite and depression (GDS-15) scores at 6-month follow-up. There were no differences on outcome measures based on race/ethnicity, income or education with one exception—a difference between 12th grade and graduate degree education on SF-12 Mental Health Composite scores.Conclusions: While not explicitly tailored for specific ethnic groups, the BRIGHTEN program may be equally effective in reducing depression symptoms and improving mental health functioning in a highly socioeconomically and ethnically diverse, community-dwelling older adult population.Clinical Implications: Implications for behavioral health integration in primary care are discussed.

Community-Based Approach to Primary Health Care Integration

Community-Based Approach to Primary Health Care Integration

Innovations in Primary Health Care: the use of communications technology and information tools to support local management.

Social media has been used in different contexts as a way to streamline the flow of data and information for decision making. This has contributed to the issue of knowledge production in networks and the expansion of communication channels so that there is greater access to health services. This article describes the results of research done on 16 Information Technology and Communications Observatories in Health Care - OTICS Network in Rio - covering the Municipal Health Secretariat in Rio de Janeiro which supported the integration of primary health care and promoted the monitoring of health. It is a descriptive case study. The results relate to the support given to employees in training covering the dissemination of information, communication, training and information management in primary health care. This innovative means of communication in public health, with very little cost to the Unified Health System (SUS), allowed for a weekly registering of work processes for teams that worked in 193 primary health care units (APS) using blogs, whose total accesses reached the seven million mark in mid-2015. In the future there is a possibility that distance learning tools could be used to assist in training processes and in the continuing education of professionals in family health teams.

A simple integrated primary health care based model for detection of diabetic retinopathy in resource-limited settings in Pakistani population.

Objective:To find out prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in general population of three districts in Pakistan.Methods:A community based cross-sectional survey was conducted in three large districts of Pakistan namely Rawalpindi in Punjab, Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Hyderabad in Sindh between January 2013 and August 2015. Lady Health Workers identified individuals at high risk for diabetes based on pre-defined criteria. High risk population was tested for dysglycemia. Fundoscopic evaluation for evidence of DR was performed in all individuals with a random blood glucose >190mg/dl. Individuals with the evidence of DR were referred to affiliated tertiary care ophthalmology departments.Results:A total of 42,629 individuals reported at the project sites and 63% (n=26,859) were female. Fifty one percent (n=21,989) individuals met high risk criteria. Out of these 21,989 individuals, dysglycemia was found in 3,869 (17.6%). Fundoscopy showed evidence of DR in 1,042 (27%) individuals. Amongst high risk population, dysglycemia was significantly more common in females as compared to males. The frequency of DR in dysglycemic patients was comparable across both gender groups.Conclusion:The prevalence of DR in Pakistani population is alarmingly high. This preventable cause of blindness is largely undiagnosed in our population and a simple integrated model based on primary health care facilities can help identify and treat a large population of DR patients.

Implementation of marijuana and drug screening with depression and alcohol screening: results from a pilot study integrating behavioral health screening into routine primary care

Background Routine primary care screening for depression and alcohol use is widely recommended. Benefits of screening for marijuana and drug use are less clear, but might identify patients whose drug use complicates their health. As a result, leaders of a large integrated healthcare system in a U.S. state, where recreational marijuana use was recently legalized, implemented screening for marijuana and drug use as part of a pilot of behavioral health integration in primary care. The objective is to describe the prevalence of screening and further assessment of marijuana and drug use compared to depression and alcohol misuse during early implementation.

Interprofessional Competencies in Integrative Primary Healthcare.

In October 2014, the National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare (NCIPH) was launched as a collaboration between the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the Academic Consortium for Integrative Health and Medicine and supported by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. A primary goal of the NCIPH is to develop a core set of integrative healthcare (IH) competencies and educational programs that will span the interprofessional primary care training and practice spectra and ultimately become a required part of primary care education. This article reports on the first phase of the NCIPH effort, which focused on the development of a shared set of competencies in IH for primary care disciplines. The process of development, refinement, and adoption of 10 “meta-competencies” through a collaborative process involving a diverse interprofessional team is described. Team members represent nursing, the primary care medicine professions, pharmacy, public health, acupuncture, naturopathy, chiropractic, nutrition, and behavioral medicine. Examples of the discipline-specific sub-competencies being developed within each of the participating professions are provided, along with initial results of an assessment of potential barriers and facilitators of adoption within each discipline. The competencies presented here will form the basis of a 45-hour online curriculum produced by the NCIPH for use in primary care training programs that will be piloted in a wide range of programs in early 2016 and then revised for wider use over the following year.

National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare: Designing an introductory interprofessional integrative health course for primary care educational training programs

National Center for Integrative Primary Healthcare: Designing an introductory interprofessional integrative health course for primary care educational training programs

Behavioral health integration in primary care at Brigham and Women׳s Advanced Primary Care Associates, South Huntington

Of the many problems facing the US healthcare system, the shortage of behavioral health providers in outpatient settings is particularly profound. To address this issue, Boston׳s Brigham and Women׳s Hospital identified ways to incorporate behavioral health into primary care when it opened the South Huntington Primary Care clinic in August 2011. When the needs of its patients were more complex than anticipated, the clinic created assessment tools and refined care processes to identify, triage, and monitor patients with mental illness. Key insights from the South Huntington experience include:•Hiring for roles instead of training can decrease costs of implementation.•A process for reflection, assessment, and adaptation is a critical component of innovation.•Innovations must adapt to the specific needs of the local community.•Innovations are most effective when they reflect the capabilities of local providers.

Evaluation of the impact on non-communicable chronic diseases of a major integrated primary health care program in Mexico.

Primary health care is the best framework for implementing actions for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases at an appropriate scale. In 2002, the Mexican Institute for Social Security (IMSS), which provides health care to half of the Mexican population, implemented a primary care-based integrated program that included the improvement of the family health care practice and a preventive strategy called PREVENIMSS, to reduce the burden of disease. To asess the impact of this program on selected non-communicable chronic diseases. Morbidity and mortality were compared before and after implementation of the program and time trends in IMSS affiliates and non-affiliates using the difference-in-differences (DD) method. Incidence rates of diabetes and hypertension increased whereas those of cervical cancer, breast cancer and other cerebrovascular diseases decreased from 2000 to 2013. The DD in mortality rates, expressed per 100000 persons, showed a decrease of 49.4 for diabetes mellitus, 9.1 for hypertensive disease, 42.9 for ischemic heart disease, 17.4 for cerebrovascular disease, 7.5 for cervical cancer and 5.8 for breast cancer. The reductions in mortality rates could be explained by both changes in incidence rates and changes in case fatality rates associated with early detection and treatment. These initial findings can be interpreted as the potential impact of integrated programs based on primary health care in a developing country.