IPCHS. Integrated People-Centred Health Services

Publications

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”.

June 28, 2018 Africa

Why high tech needs high touch: Supporting continuity of community primary health care

Integrated care through community-oriented primary care (COPC) deployed through municipal teams of community health workers (CHWs) has been part of health reform in South Africa since 2011. The role of COPC and integration of information and communication technology (ICT) information to improve patient health and access to care, require a better understanding of patient social behaviour. These study sought to understand how COPC with CHWs visiting households offering health education can support antenatal follow-up and what the barriers for access to care would be

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June 28, 2018 Africa

Scaling community-based services in Gauteng, South Africa: A comparison of three workforce-planning scenarios

The introduction of community-based services through community health workers is an opportunity to redefine the approach and practice of primary health care. Based on bestpractice community oriented primary care (COPC), a COPC planning toolkit has been developed to model the creation of a community-based tier in an integrated district health system

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June 13, 2018 South-East Asia

Developing and deploying a community healthcare worker-driven, digitally- enabled integrated care system for municipalities in rural Nepal

Integrating care at the home and facility level is a critical yet neglected function of healthcare delivery systems. There are few examples in practice or in the academic literature of affordable, digitally-enabled integrated care approaches embedded within healthcare delivery systems in low- and middle-income countries. Simultaneous advances in affordable digital technologies and community healthcare workers offer an opportunity to address this challenge. This article describe the development of an integrated care system involving community healthcare worker networks that utilize a home-to-facility electronic health record platform for rural municipalities in Nepal.

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June 11, 2018 Western Pacific

Increasing advance personal planning: the need for action at the community level

Advance personal planning is the process by which people consider, document and communicate their preferences for personal, financial and health matters in case they lose the ability to make decisions or express their wishes in the future.

There is a need for rigorous evidence to demonstrate wheter a community action approach is effective in estabilishing whole community adoption of advance personal planning. 

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June 6, 2018 Western Pacific

Coordinating Mental and Physical Health Care in Rural Australia: An Integrated Model for Primary Care Settings

The "GP Clinic" providers primary health care to people using community mental health services in a small town in Australia. This article examines the factors that have driven successful integration in this rural location. Integrated physical and mental health service models that focus on building local service provider relationships and are responsive to community needs and outcomes may be more beneficial in rural settings than top down approaches that focus on policies, formal structures, and governance. 

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June 4, 2018 Eastern Mediterranean

Barriers to, and opportunities for, palliative care development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The 22 countries of WHO´s Eastern Mediterranean Region are experiencing an increase in the burden of non-communicable deseases (NCDs), including cancer. Of the six WHO regions, the Eastern Mediterranean Region is projected to have the greatest increase in cancer incidence in the next 15 years. With increasing numbers of deaths from cancer, palliative care should be available to relieve suffering in patients with advance desease and at the end of life. However, in the Eastern Mediterranean Reion, the palliative care available is variable and inconsistent. 

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May 18, 2018 Eastern Mediterranean

Primary healthcare policy implementation in the Eastern Mediterranean region: Experiences of six countries

Primary healthcare (PHC) is essential for equitable access and cost-effective healthcare. This makes PHC a key factor in the global strategy for universal health coverage (UHC). Implementing PHC requires an understanding of the health system under prevailing circumstances, but for most countries, no data are available. This paper describes and analyse the health systems of Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, in relation to PHC

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May 18, 2018 Eastern Mediterranean

Developing patient safety system using WHO tool in hospitals in Oman

Oman is progressively implementing the Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Iniciative (PSFHI), a tool formulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to achieve optimal patient safety in hospitals. This paper  describes its implementation in selected government and private hospitals in Oman and analyses the performance of four hospitals whose implementations of PSFHI were assessed by WHO. 

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May 18, 2018 Eastern Mediterranean

Adapting evidence-based clinical practice guidelines at university teaching hospitals: A model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are significant tools for evidence-based health care quality improvement. The CPG program at King Saud University was launched as a quality improvement program to fulfil the internationa accreditation standards. This study aims to develop a fast-track method for adaptation of evidence-based CPGs and describe results of the program. 

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May 16, 2018 Africa

The impact of cash transfers on social determinants of health and health inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Cash transfers (CTs) are now high on the agenda of most governments in low-and middle- income countries. Within the field of health promotion, CTs constitute a healthy public policy initiative as they have the potential to address the social determinants of health and health inequalities. A systematic review was conducted to synthesise the evidence on CTs´impacts on social determinants of health and health inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa, and to identify the barriers and facilitators of effective CTs.

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