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”.

April 18, 2019 Africa

Community health extension program of Ethiopia, 2003–2018: successes and challenges toward universal coverage for primary healthcare services

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Dec. 12, 2018 Africa

Does supportive supervision enhance community health worker motivation? A mixed-methods study in four African countries

Supportive supervision is an important element of community health worker (CHW) programmes and is believed to improve CHW motivation and performance. A group supervision intervention, which included training and mentorship of supervisors, was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. In three of the countries, this was combined with individual and/or peer supervision. A mixed-methods implementation study was conducted to assess the effect of the supervision intervention on CHWs’ perceptions of supervision and CHW motivation-related outcomes. The study suggests that there is potential for integrating supportive group supervision models in CHW programmes. A combination of group with individual or ...

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Nov. 28, 2018 Africa

Universal health coverage necessitates a system approach: an analysis of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative in Ghana

The 9th Global conference on health promotion (Shanghai 2016) reaffirmed the role of primary health care (PHC) in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Gaining much international recognition, the community-based health planning and services (CHPS) initiative is considered one of the pragmatic strategy in delivering on the promise of universal health coverage (UHC) through the PHC strategy, in Ghana. Yet, certain key factors threaten its successes – renewing the relevance of this study to present the barriers to and facilitators of the initiative. According to their findings, CHPS contribution particularly in bridging geographical access to health cannot be demeaned. Nevertheless, the ...

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July 27, 2018 Africa

Priority setting for health in the context of devolution in Kenya: implications for health equity and community-based primary care

Devolution changes the locus of power within a country from central to sub-national levels. In 2013, Kenya devolved health and other services from central government to 47 new sub-national governments (known as counties). This transition seeks to strengthen democracy and accountability, increase community participation, improve efficiency and reduce inequities. With changing responsibilities and power following devolution reforms, comes the need for priority-setting at the new county level. Priority-setting arises as a consequence of the needs and demand for healthcare resources exceeding the resources available, resulting in the need for some means of choosing between competing demands

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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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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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May 9, 2018 Africa

Primary health services at district level in South Africa: a critique of the primary health care approach

The rhetoric of primary health care philosophy in the district health system is widely cited as a fundamental component of the health transformation process in post-apartheid South Africa. Despite, South Africa´s progress and attempts at implementing primary health care, various factors still limit its success.

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April 25, 2018 Africa

The Influence of Family Physicians Within the South African District Health System: A Cross-Sectional Study

Evidence of the influence of family physicians on health care is required to assist managers and policy makers with human resource planning in Africa. The International argument for family physicians derives mainly from research in high-income countries, so this study aimed to evaluate the influence of family physicians on the South African district health system. 

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April 2, 2018 Africa

Assessing the feasibility of community health insurance in Uganda: A mixed-methods exploratory analysis

Community health insurance (CHI) aims to provide financial protection and facilitate health care access among poor rural populations. Given common operational challenges that hamper the full development of the scheme, there is need to undertake systematic feasibility studies. These are scarce in the literature and usually they do not provide a comprehensive analysis of the local context. The present research intends to adopt a mixed-methods approach to assess ex-ante the feasibility of CHI. 

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