Global health, equity, and primary care.

Global health provides a special challenge for primary care and general practice, which will become increasingly important in the future as the prevalence of multimorbidity increases with increasing likelihood of survival from acute manifestations of illness, as populations age, and as costs of care increase with increasing availability of technologic interventions. World organizations of primary care physicians need to take up the challenge before it becomes a crisis.     

The relationship between self-rated health and health care service use among women veterans in a primary care clinic.

This study examined whether self-rated health predicted health service use among women in an equal access primary care clinic setting. Women veterans (n = 139), 23-76 years of age were administered the PRIME-MD questionnaire at their outpatient clinic (OPC) visit which included a self-rated health item and assessment of symptoms. Number of prospective OPC visits was the outcome variable. Women who had poor/fair health were significantly more likely (OR = 3.25) to have more (>12) OPC visits than women who reported excellent/very good health. We conclude that poor perception of one's health is an important predictor of health care use among women veterans.     

建立以诊所为基础的医疗卫生服务体系

卫生资源的合理分配、全科医学的兴起、全科医生的培养和出现,为诊所的建立奠定了理论和人员基础,以此构成一个以分布广泛、数量众多、服务质量达到较高标准的诊所为基础的,二、三级医院为主体,外加一些经改造的原一级医院为补充的这样一个新颖的、具有相当医疗水准的、整体医疗设施配备较为健全的、分布较为合理的社会医疗卫生服务网络,使任何一位公民都可在尽可能短的时间内及时方便地得到优质的医疗卫生服务和迅速的院前抢救,以满足不同层次的医疗卫生服务的需求。     

Physical access to primary health care in Andean Bolivia

Limited physical access to primary health care is a major factor contributing to the poor health of populations in developing countries, particularly in mountain areas with rugged topography, harsh climates and extensive socioeconomic barriers. Assessing physical access to primary health care is an important exercise for health care planners and policy makers. The development of geographic information system (GIS) technology has greatly improved this assessment process in industrialized countries where digital cartographic data are widely available. In developing countries particularly in mountain areas, however, detailed cartographic data, even in hardcopy form, are nonexistent, inaccurate or severely lacking. This paper uses GIS technology to assess physical access to primary health care in a remote and impoverished region of Andean Bolivia. In addition, it proposes an alternative model of health personnel distribution to maximize physical accessibility. Methods involved extensive fieldwork in the region, utilizing GPS (global positioning system) technology in the development of the GIS and gathering other pertinent health data for the study. Satellite imagery also contributed to the development of the GIS and in the modeling process. The results indicate significant variation in physical access to primary health care across the three study sites. More importantly, this paper highlights the use of GIS technology as a powerful tool in improving physical accessibility in mountain areas of developing countries.     

Measuring service quality at a university health clinic

Describes research undertaken to assess the quality of service provided by a public university health clinic. The SERVQUAL instrument was administered to patients of the University of Houston Health Center in order to evaluate customer perceptions of service quality. The results of this study are currently being incorporated into the clinic's strategic planning process, specifically with respect to future resource allocation towards quality improvement projects.     

Evaluating a program of psychological interventions in primary health care: consumer distress, disability and service usage

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a Better Outcomes of Mental Health Care Access to Allied Psychological Services Program for general practice patients referred for high-prevalence mental disorders. METHODS: Participants were South Australian general practitioners (GPs; n=26) and their patients referred for treatment of high-prevalence psychological disorders, of whom 229 provided baseline measures, 106 provided post-treatment measures, and 85 provided follow-up data three months after termination of treatment. Interventions were Focused Psychological Strategies supplied by mental health specialists; outcome variables included GP satisfaction, patient satisfaction, psychological distress, life impairment, and health service usage. RESULTS: Satisfaction with the treatment program was high for both the GPs and the referred patients. Patients who attended three or more treatment sessions showed reduced distress and disability, and gains were maintained three months later. Health service usage declined with acceptance of referral regardless of treatment experience. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of controls and missing data were methodological weaknesses. Results support the effectiveness of integrated primary mental health care to reduce psychological distress and disability, while impact on service usage warrants further investigation. IMPLICATIONS: Reduction of suffering and increased economic productivity may both result from this public health initiative to increase access to effective treatments for common chronic mental conditions.     

Study protocol: Evaluating the impact of a rural Australian primary health care service on rural health

Background  

Rural communities throughout Australia are experiencing demographic ageing, increasing burden of chronic diseases, and de-population. Many are struggling to maintain viable health care services due to lack of infrastructure and workforce shortages. Hence, they face significant health disadvantages compared with urban regions. Primary health care yields the best health outcomes in situations characterised by limited resources. However, few rigorous longitudinal evaluations have been conducted to systematise them; assess their transferability; or assess sustainability amidst dynamic health policy environments. This paper describes the study protocol of a comprehensive longitudinal evaluation of a successful primary health care service in a small rural Australian community to assess its performance, sustainability, and responsiveness to changing community needs and health system requirements.     

Adherence to mental health treatment in a primary care clinic

BACKGROUND: Patient nonadherence is common for the standard mental health treatments in primary care: antidepressants and referrals to specialty mental health treatment. This is one of few studies to prospectively identify predictors of nonadherence. METHODS: We observed 95 veterans attending an internal medicine clinic prescribed antidepressant medication or referred to mental health treatment. We collected information on sociodemographic factors, health beliefs, preferences about treatment, past experiences, and treatment knowledge. RESULTS: At 1 month, medication adherence was greater when patients experienced previous pharmacy trouble and traveled for less than 30 minutes to reach the clinic. Appointment attendance improved when patients were ready for treatment, perceived benefits, and saw their physician as collaborative. At 6 months, medication adherence was greater when patients reported a preference for medicine treatment, traveled for less than 30 minutes, and perceived greater benefits. Fewer negative effects from previous mental health treatment improved adherence to appointments. In multivariate analyses examining adherence to all treatments, greater readiness for treatment predicted 1-month adherence, whereas being unmarried and seeing the physician as more collaborative improved 6-month adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to antidepressant medications and to mental health referrals should be examined separately. A brief initial assessment for nonadherence risk factors may identify persons for targeted adherence promoting interventions.     

Training health workers for primary care in a developing health service

To provide primary health care in a thinly populated mountainous country with few doctors presents great difficulties. The Royal Government of Bhutan decided to base their primary medical care service on appropriately trained medical auxilliaries. The training programme is described, and the problems of assessing the field activities discussed.     

Phased trial of a proven algorithm at a new primary care clinic.

A previous study showed that a clinical algorithm for respiratory illnesses, consisting of a checklist, a set of instructions (logic), and computer audit/feedback, could reduce costs significantly while maintaining a high quality of care. The results of this study show that the algorithm system, developed and validated at one primary care clinic, can be successfully imported to another primary care clinic. In the present study, the algorithm system significantly improved the completeness of the medical records, reduced the use of medical tests by 20 per cent-75 per cent, and reduced non-provider costs by 36 per cent per patient visit. This study also shows that all three components of the algorithm system appear to be necessary to achieve these improvements and maintain a high quality of medical care. These results suggest that a wider use of the algorithm system for minor acute medical problems is both feasible and useful in providing high-quality cost-effective care that is auditable.     

Evaluating a health service taskforce

A large number of taskforces and other quality improvement teams have been set up to achieve change in recent years, both in health and elsewhere, but there has been relatively little systematic evaluation of the benefits obtained. This paper discusses alternative methodologies and frameworks for assessing the value of taskforces and other quality improvement teams in the public sector and concludes that the Performance Prism, used in conjunction with the public sector scorecard, a variant of the balanced scorecard, is most appropriate. The paper then describes a case study on the evaluation of a UK health service taskforce using the recommended approach and reflects on its successes and limitations.     

产前保健服务利用的公平性调查分析

目的:探讨不同收入状况孕妇产前保健服务利用情况及公平性。方法:以1 685例不同收入水平孕妇为研究对象,利用五分组法测算孕早期检查率、产前检查总次数达标率和健卡率,不同收入状况孕妇各率的比较采用列联表χ2检验,用极差法(率差RD、率比RR)和集中指数(CI)进行产前保健服务利用的公平性比较。结果:在产前保健服务利用情况项目中,孕早期检查率、产前检查总次数达标率及建卡率在不同经济水平孕妇间差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),三项指标均随着经济水平的增高而呈现明显增加的趋势。三项指标中的RD均为负值,集中指数为正值。结论:年均经济收入高、经济状况好的孕妇首次接受孕早期检查率、产前检查总次数达标率及建卡率高于年均收入较低的孕妇,该地区不同经济状况孕妇产前保健服务利用方面存在不公平性。     

Surveillance for equity in primary health care: policy implications from international experience.

Experience around the world shows that health agencies can promote community-based surveillance for equity to focus low-cost interventions on priority needs. Social inequities which have seemed intractable can be resolved if care responds directly to demonstrated need. The concept of promoting equity as a basic principle of primary health care has an interesting psychological twist. The ethical imperative of equity can strengthen services when linked with the practical management tool of surveillance. Moral conviction in applying this social justice norm can facilitate action which is made efficient by the realism of statistically based methods of surveillance. If international agencies condition their aid on surveillance for equity their assistance will more likely go to those in greatest need. This is a more efficient and effective way of tracking their money than the previous tendency to set up vertical programmes which generally have poor sustainability. Surveillance helps mobilize political will and community participation by providing practical data for local, district and national decision-makers. The many field demonstrations of successful surveillance for equity tend to have been brushed off by development experts who say they are difficult to replicate nationally. The Model County Project in China shows how a systematic extension process can test procedures in experimental areas and adapt them for general implementation. Surveillance can help bureaucracies maintain capacity for flexible and prompt response as decentralization promotes decision-making by local units which are held responsible for meeting equity targets. Surveillance for equity provides a mechanism to ensure such accountability.     

Involving communities in health service planning in primary care

Recent health service policy in the United Kingdom has emphasized the need to involve local people in health service planning. This paper will describe how local communities were involved in the development of Primary Care Resource Centres. These centres are designed to provide a base for the delivery of a range of health, social welfare and information services within a community setting. Four centres in the process of being developed in one region were selected for in-depth study. The main method of data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews with key “stakeholders”, namely purchasers and providers of primary health care, social care providers, hospital outreach staff and local community and voluntary group workers (Weiss 1983). This paper examines how the health service organizations developing the centres involved local communities in planning them and the obstacles and difficulties encountered. The paper suggests lessons that can be learned for future community involvement in the planning of local health services.