IPCHS

This growing repository holds WHO documents, scientific publications, policy documents, implementation reports, presentations and others with information and insights about integrated people-centred health services. Share your publication by clicking “Add publication”.

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Sept. 14, 2023 Africa South-East Asia Eastern Mediterranean Western Pacific

Engaging and empowering people and communities, Strengthening governance and accountability, Reorienting the model of care, Coordinating services within and across sectors, Creating an enabling environment

Primary health care case studies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overview

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has showcased the importance of primary health care (PHC) and revealed health system strengths as well as weaknesses.

As a defining global and national policy priority, COVID-19 has had enormous impacts on country health systems, often unveiling inequities as well as governance, stewardship and leadership challenges. COVID-19 demonstrates that trust between communities and service providers, and effective collaboration across sectors, are essential elements of successful public health responses and primary care continuity.

In 2015, the Alliance commissioned Primary Health Care Systems (PRIMASYS) case studies in twenty low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Building on these ...

July 5, 2023 Africa

Models of Integrated Care: The global experience

This Global Experience Paper on Integrated Health Care was developed to provide the Primary Health Care Institute (PHCI) in Libya with insights as it designs and develops its plans to rebuild primary health care (PHC). The findings are informed by a review of recent international literature, and by insights provided by selected international experts. The paper uses the Framework on Integrated, People-Centered Health Services from the World Health Organization to structure the analysis of global experiences. Overall, there is no single model of integration that can or should be adopted in countries seeking to develop primary health care. There is ...

June 12, 2023 Africa

Implementing integrated care clinics for HIV-infection, diabetes and hypertension in Uganda (INTE-AFRICA): process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial

Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a dual burden of chronic human immunodeficiency virus and non-communicable diseases. A pragmatic parallel arm cluster randomised trial (INTE-AFRICA) scaled up ‘one-stop’ integrated care clinics for HIV-infection, diabetes and hypertension at selected facilities in Uganda. These clinics operated integrated health education and concurrent management of HIV, hypertension and diabetes. A process evaluation (PE) aimed to explore the experiences, attitudes and practices of a wide variety of stakeholders during implementation and to develop an understanding of the impact of broader structural and contextual factors on the process of service integration.

March 27, 2023 Africa

The organisation of primary health care service delivery for non-communicable diseases in Nigeria: A case-study analysis

As chronic diseases, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) require sustained person-centred and community-based care. Given its direct link to communities and households, Primary Health Care (PHC) is well positioned to achieve such care. In Nigeria, the national government has prioritized PHC system strengthening as a means of achieving national NCD targets. However, strengthening PHC systems for NCDs require re-organization of PHC service delivery, based on contextual understanding of existing facilitators and barriers to PHC service delivery for NCDs.

Feb. 16, 2023 Africa Eastern Mediterranean

Patient-centered care in the Middle East and North African region: a systematic literature review

The need for patient centered care (PCC) and its subsequent implementation has gained policy maker attention worldwide. Despite the evidence showing the benefits and the challenges associated with practicing PCC in western countries there has been no comprehensive review of the literature on PCC practice in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, yet there is good reason to think that the practices of PCC in these regions would be different.

Jan. 24, 2023 Africa

Adaptation and validation of the Ugandan Primary Care Assessment Tool

Health systems based on primary health care (PHC) have better outcomes at lower cost. Such health systems need regular performance assessment for quality improvement and maintenance. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), there are no electronic databases for routine monitoring. There is an urgent need for valid and reliable tools to measure PHC performance.

This study aimed to adapt and validate the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) in the Ugandan context.

The South African Primary Care Assessment Tool (ZA PCAT) was adapted and validated with an additional domain on person-centredness to measure primary care performance in the Ugandan context ...

Jan. 10, 2023 Africa

“After all, we are all sick”: multi-stakeholder understanding of stigma associated with integrated management of HIV, diabetes and hypertension at selected government clinics in Uganda

Integrated care is increasingly used to manage chronic conditions. In Uganda, the integration of HIV, diabetes and hypertension care has been piloted, to leverage the advantages of well facilitated and established HIV health care provision structures. This qualitative study aimed to explore HIV stigma dynamics whilst investigating multi-stakeholder perceptions and experiences of providing and receiving integrated management of HIV, diabetes and hypertension at selected government clinics in Central Uganda.

Dec. 19, 2022 Africa

Facilitators and barriers to professional nurses implementing integrated services in urban primary health care clinics in Kavango East region, Namibia

The World Health Organization (WHO) has advocated for the implementation of people-centred and integrated health services. Although there is growing evidence of integration’s benefits for sexual and reproductive health, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and rights, health services face tremendous resource constraints when it comes to integrating these services.

Nov. 15, 2022 Africa

The role of community health workers in palliative care in a rural subdistrict in South Africa

Effective palliative care is an urgent humanitarian need, particularly in less developed countries, including South Africa (SA). People can be palliated within their communities, motivating the integration of palliative care into primary healthcare systems. While community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in health coverage at the primary care level, literature on their roles in palliation is limited.

May 24, 2022 Africa

Strengthening governance and accountability, Creating an enabling environment

Estimating the threshold of health workforce densities towards universal health coverage in Africa

There have been past efforts to develop benchmarks for health workforce (HWF) needs across countries which have been helpful for advocacy and planning. Still, they have neither been country-specific nor disaggregated by cadre—primarily due to data inadequacies. This paper presents an analysis to estimate a threshold of 13 cadres of HWF density to support the progressive realisation of universal health coverage (UHC).The analysis found that a unit increase in the HWF density per 10 000 population is positively associated with statistically significant improvements in the UHC SCI of countries (β=0.127, p<0.001). Consistent with current knowledge ...