Elements and Principles of Primary health care Flashcards
The 8 Essential elements:
- Health Education.
- Food supply.
- Safe water and sanitation.
- Maternal and child health.
- Immunization.
- Prevention and control of endemic diseases.
- Treatment of diseases and injuries.
- Provision of drugs.
Health Education
- Is meant to be provided to communities concerning prevailing health problems, those prevalent in those communities, and how to identify a specific health problem, measures to take to prevent the disease and control health problems, the health education also helps prevent diseases from spreading on a personal level.
Examples: - Tuberculosis >cough etiquette >signs >contact tracing >Importance of completing treatment - HIV >prevention >early testing >ART - counseling about adherence to meds
Health education about COVID-19?
- What health education is important to provide to communities?
- How is it transmitted - Address conspiracy theories
- Prevention:
- Wash hands regularly and properly
- Avoid touching your face
- Cough and sneeze etiquette
- Mask wearing
- Social distancing
- Address concerns about vaccination
- Importance of quarantine and isolation to break the chain of transmission.
Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition
- Adequate supply of safe and basic nutrition is important
- Nutrition is important for maintaining good health status, people also use food supplements.
- Good nutrition prevents malnutrition and starvation.
- It also prevents diseases and conditions like: Kwashiorkor and anaemia.
Adequate supply of safe water and sanitation
- There is a close relationship between supply water and sanitation. No water means the sanitary conditions will automatically be affected.
- The supply of clean, safe drinking water.
- Basic sanitation measures regarding trash, sewage and water cleanliness.
- This element helps to improve the health of a population by reducing and possibly eliminating many preventable diseases like: diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, roundworm, dysentery.
Maternal and Child health care
- High risk of health problems AND vulnerable group. This provides adequate counselling on family planning and safe sex.
Immunization
- Expanded programme of immunisation against major infectious diseases
- Provision vaccines is not sufficient - health system needs to support cold chain [from the time the vaccination is made is it in appropriate temperature], and safe administration [are there required provisions for safe administration]
- What is on the list of EPI in SA?
Prevention and control of legally endemic diseases
- Many diseases may vary based on location
- e.g schistosomiasis, malaria
- Prevention and control: multi-faceted
- Health education, vector control, safe water, adequate supply of medication for prevention or the treatment of disease.
Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries
- Treatment of communicable and non-communicable disease
- Promotion of mental health
Provision of drugs
- Correct treatment of disease will prevent complications
- Availability and distribution
Primary Health care Elements
- The first three elements are: PROMOTIVE SERVICES
- The middle three elements are: PREVENTIVE SERVICES
- The last two elements are: CURATIVE CARE SERVICES
PROMOTIVE SERVICES [promote good health]
- Education
- Food supply
- Safe water & Sanitation
PREVENTIVE SERVICES
- Immunisation
- Maternal and child health
- Prevention and control of endemic diseases
CURATIVE CARE SERVICES
- Provision of drugs
- Treatment of diseases and injuries
Extended Elements in 21st Century
> These are intended to improve health indices and outcomes - life expectancy, maternal mortality, and child mortality.
Intention is also to reverse global trends in five major pandemics:
1. Malaria
2. Tuberculosis
3. HIV/AIDS
4. Tobacco-related diseases
5. Violence and trauma
These are the expanded elements of health in 21st Century:
- Expanded options of immunizations
- Reproductive health needs
- Provision of essential technologies for health
- Health promotion
- Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
- Food safety and provision of selected food supplements
PRINCIPLES OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
- all elements of PHC should be organised and delivered on the basis of:
- equity in distribution
- appropriate technology
- multisectoral approach
- community participation
Equity in distribution
> Health services shared equally by all people irrespective of ability to pay
Shifting the focus of the health care system from cities to rural areas = decentralisation
Equity is about Services to all and providing more services to needy & vulnerable people.
To ensure equity:
- The population to be served must be known.
- The vulnerable groups identified & reached.
- The equitable distribution is hampered by:
resources and
limited geographical access [must fix roads and facilities but would have to provide transport as well]
- improve access by:
- increasing number of health facilities
- improving transport conditions
- outreach services
Multisectoral approach
- Elements of PHC cannot be provided by the health sector alone
- Declaration of Alma-Ata:
“PHC involves in addition to the health sector, all related sectors & aspects of national & community development, in particular agriculture, animal husbandry, food, industry, education, housing, public works, communication & others sectors” - Promotes overall human development and ensure economic development of communities.
? Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, eggs, or otherproducts. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding and the raising of livestock.
Appropriate technology
ORS: 1 litre of boiled and cooled water , with 8 teaspoons of sugar and half teaspoon salt
- Technology that is scientifically sound, adaptable to local needs, & acceptable to those who apply it & those for whom it is used.
- It should able to be maintained by the people themselves in keeping with the principle of self reliance with the resources the community & country can afford.
- Not necessarily high end technology that we refer to, meaning not only diagnostic & therapeutic technology and machines.
- Also for disease prevention & control and health promotion.
- Not necessarily high level technology that is administered at the health facility. e.g of simple technology:
- ORS instead of expensive intravenous replacement of fluids in mild or moderate dehydration
- Growth charts: maintained by health workers
- Water filters or chlorination tablets.
- Applications on smart phones used to track and assist patients.
Community participation
- involvement of individuals, families, & communities in promotion of their own health & welfare on:
- planning
- implementation
- maintenance of health services
- evaluation of health services
- local resources
- This addresses the felt health needs of the people, might find other needs not met.
- Helps us ensure:
- social responsibility among the community
- sustainability
- cost sharing
- enhancement of knowledge
- encourages intersectoral collaboration
