The Why, What and How of Community-Based Primary Healthcare

WHY: Effectiveness

The bad news: Extensive research conducted all over the world has demonstrated that an exclusive focus on improving patient care does save lives, but in resource poor settings most people never get to a hospital or clinic. They suffer and too often die at home. A focus on only hospitals and clinics doesn’t change death rates, particularly of children and women of childbearing age.

The good news: Overwhelming research demonstrates that a community-based approach does improve health and decreases death rates for whole populations!

The key to this approach is for the community to find a catalyst to focus the energy of communities on cooperatively problem-solving to better their own health. Communities and health care system can (and should) partner. When healthcare systems partner with community-based efforts, it results in enormously more efficient and effective improvements in public health. The term Community-based Primary Health Care (CBPHC) is used in health and development literature to describe this approach.

WHAT: Behavior Change

This approach acknowledges three realities:

1. Unhealthy behaviors contribute excessively to poor health and high death rates. Many of these behaviors can be changed by community led and community driven change.

2. An integrated approach is needed that acknowledges that other factors (education, agriculture, entrepreneurship, the empowerment of women etc.) have a tremendous impact on health.

3. Community-oriented, people-centered services imply a paradigm shift. Power needs to be redistributed, giving communities more control and input to their health care and development.

HOW: What does CBPHC look like at GHM?

CBPHC can look as diverse as the communities served. Many of our partnerships result in community health workers (CHW) who are trusted educators, servant leaders and community organizers. GHM partners in every case at the invitation of our partners to strengthen their health care systems. Once invited GHM may engage in one or all of the following ways:

· A consulting relationship where GHM’s consulting services (GHAP) engage to listen and advise on how to integrate CBPHC into a healthcare system.

· Provide startup funding to successfully launch a CBPHC program.

· Network to provide training for all levels of leadership.

· Assist as a catalyst for supportive relationships between church and community

· Promote and assist in providing monitoring and evaluation of CBPHC programs

Use the link below to explore additional resources.