Key Principles Of Health Care

Principles of Primary Health Care

Primary health care isn’t simply treating patients or immunizing children and so on. It is an ethos, a concept, which is built up as a system. For this concept to be successful, it should employ the following four essential principles:

1. Equity
2. Community Participation
3. Intersectoral Coordination
4. Appropriate Technology

Equity/Equitable Distribution

The first key principle is equity or equitable distribution and it is one of the important principles in primary health care services. Health services must be shared equally by all people and all ( rich or poor, urban or rural) must have access to health services.

Community Participation

Community participation is a social and proven approach to addressing the health care needs of the community people It means the involvement of individuals, families, and communities in the promotion of their own health and welfare is an important ingredient of primary health care. PHC coverage cannot be obtained without the involvement of the community in analysis, decision-making, planning, and program implementation, as well as in all the activities and share their needs living in a specific geographic area and establish mechanisms to meet these needs.

Intersectoral Coordination

Intersectoral coordination refers to the collective actions involving more than one specialized agency, performing different roles for a common purpose. Health can’t be improved by intervention within just the formal health sector; other sectors are also significant in promoting the health and self-reliance of communities. Declaration of Alma-Ata states that primary health care ( PHC ) involves in addition to the health sector, and all related sectors are important too, sectors like education, agriculture, animal husbandry, food, industry, housing, public works, and communication.

To obtain cooperation, planning at the country level is needed to involve all sectors.

eg: In case of an outbreak of malaria

• The public works department can help to bring about environmental modification
• Industries can provide insecticides
• Education department can increase awareness about it

Appropriate Technology:

Appropriate healthcare technologies are an important strategy for improving the availability and accessibility of healthcare services. It has been defined as ‘’technology that is scientifically sound, adaptable to local needs and acceptable to those who apply it and to whom it is applied and that can be maintained by people themselves in keeping with the principle of self-reliance with the resources the community and country can afford.’’ It means using cheaper, scientifically valid, and acceptable equipment and techniques if these are available instead of costly and more sophisticated ones if the community cannot afford those.