People-centred health care

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the patient’s perspective of health care and how health systems can better respond to the needs of all health care stakeholders and constituencies in a holistic manner. Previous recommendations of Member States through the WHO Regional Committees for the Western Pacific and South-East Asia reflect the need to pursue work in the following: equity and fairness into policies; the development of programmes firmly grounded in ethical principles; the quality of health care and patient safety; human dignity, patients’ rights and needs, and the role of families, culture and society; the broader psychosocial and cultural determinants of health; and ethics related to medical practice, research and education. These issues have widespread relevance and significance. Improving health care quality and safety and enhancing the people’s experience of care require attention not only to health system design but also to the focus ...

GLL Webinar 3: Quality improvement nuggets - wisdom from the field

Improvement efforts across the world yield important lessons and learning that can stimulate changes elsewhere. Documenting and sharing the accumulated wisdom from these improvement efforts is critical in fostering the generation of new knowledge to increase the impact of quality improvement interventions. Opportunities for shared learning and exploration are limited. This webinar of the WHO Global Learning Laboratory for Quality UHC provides an opportunity to hear directly from colleagues implementing quality improvement interventions using a variety of approaches in distinct health systems across the world. The focus will be on “change nuggets” that emerge from applying quality improvement approaches to a wide range of subject areas. Linkages between quality improvement and leadership & management processes will also be considered. The 60 minute interactive webinar will draw on the lessons learned and results from a number of countries supported by the USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) project.

This ...

Strategy for revitalization of the primary health care in Cuba

Despite the existence of an integrated model of health systems and services, the research conducted in the areas of management, support, health services and finances show some phenomena that weaken the capacity of responding to the population's health requirements, particularly the first care level. The range of possibilities offered by the transforming process in the health sector encourages putting forward a revitalizing strategy centered on the capacity and need of innovating and further developing the Cuban primary health care strategy. The bases supporting the proposal, the objectives and the strategic areas of development were presented, with the focus on revitalizing the capacities of the health care system to articulate an effective, sustainable and integrated strategy. Such strategy may respond to the existing problems and meet the new health challenges to guarantee access, equity and sustained quality in health services.

Authors: MSc. Pedro López Puig, MSc. Alina María ...

Strengthening the health system response to COVID-19

WHO/Europe provides guidance to Member States on strengthening health systems and rapidly reorganizing service delivery to respond to COVID-19 while maintaining core essential services across the continuum of care so that no one is left behind. This overview of policy resources includes overall policy recommendations for a well-aligned health system response, technical guidance and checklists, and planning and monitoring tools.

Lessons on the COVID-19 pandemic, for and by primary care professionals worldwide

During the early stage of the pandemic, primary care continued as the first point of contact to the health system but was poorly informed by policy makers on how to fulfil its role and ill equipped to provide care while protecting staff and patients against further spread of the infection. The pandemic presents important lessons to strengthen health systems through better connection between public health, primary care, and secondary care to cope better with future waves of this and other pandemics.

Readiness to deliver person-focused care in a fragile situation: the case of Mental Health Services in Lebanon

Evidence suggests wide variability in the provision of mental healthcare across countries. Countries experiencing fragility related risks suffer from a high burden of mental-ill health and additionally have limited capacity to scale up mental health services given financial and human resource shortages. Integration of mental health services into routine primary care is one potential strategy for enhancing service availability, however little is known about the experiences of currently active health care providers involved in mental health and psychosocial support service (MHPSS) provision at primary care level. This study aims to determine how healthcare providers offering MHPSS services at primary care levels in Lebanon perceive mental health and the health system’s ability to address the rising mental ill-health burden with a view to identify opportunities for strengthening MHPSS service implementation geared towards integrated person focused care model.

Primary Health Care System Strengthening Project in Sri Lanka: Status and Challenges with Human Resources, Information Systems, Drugs and Laboratory Services

A Primary Healthcare-System-Strengthening Project (PSSP) is implemented by the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, with funding support from the World Bank for providing quality care through primary medical care institutions (PMCIs). We used an explanatory mixed-methods study to assess progress and challenges in human resources, drug availability, laboratory services and the health management information system (HMIS) at PMCIs. We used an explanatory mixed-methods study to assess progress and challenges in human resources, drug availability, laboratory services and the health management information system (HMIS) at PMCIs. We conducted a checklist-based assessment followed by in-depth interviews of healthcare workers in one PMCI each in all nine provinces.