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Primary Health Care
Primary Health Care
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Primary Health Care Today I will:- Know what Primary Health Care is- Be able to explain various strategies and comment on their effectiveness
“Essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and
technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full
participation and at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and
self-determination".
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Too complex? It is a way of providing health facilities for the whole population in Developing countries, since hospitals and doctors are concentrated in cities.
Primary Health Care (PHC) according to the WHO is:
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
There are lots of different strategies for example: Barefoot doctors
These are people who receive basic medical training. China is a key
example.
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Oral Rehydration Therapy: is a simple treatment for dehydration associated with diarrhoea.
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Vaccination Programs: Tetanus, measles, typhoid etc.
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Providing a small scale clean water supply by ensuring effective sanitation is in place.
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Using local labour and building facilities
Development and HealthPrimary Health Care
Health education classes in relation to diseases such as AIDs
Development and HealthDifferences
Sample Question: Primary Health care is a way of providing health care in developing countries. Give names examples of PHC methods and explain why they are suitable for developing countries. (10)
Examples of Primary Health Care (PHC) strategies include:
[A]Use of barefoot doctors who are trusted local people who can carry out treatment for more common illnesses such as in China.[B Effect] They often use cheaper traditional remedies.
[A] Use of ORT (Oral Rehydration Therapy) which is a salt solution used tackle dehydration particularly amongst babies. [B Effect] This is an easy, cheap and effective remedy for diarrhoea/dehydration.
[A] Vaccination programmes against disease such as measles. [Effect] This is preventative medicine rather than (more expensive) curative medicine.
Development and HealthDifferences
[A] Health education schemes in schools, community plays/songs concerning AIDS, with groups of expectant mothers or women in relation to diet and hygiene.[B Effect]Oral education is much more effective in illiterate societies such as South Sudan.
[A] The building of small local health centres staffed by visiting doctors.[B Effect] Good as often doctors are there on a voluntary basis for those who cannot afford private healthcare
[A] PHC can also involve the building of small scale clean water supplies and pit latrines. Water borne diseases are often the biggest cause of poor health in developing countries.
[A] The use of local labour and building materials is often cheaper; [B Effect]It provides training/transferable skills for the participants and gains faster acceptance/usage in the local and wider community.
