Factors of global primary healthcare sector

Primary healthcare can be defined in many ways. One of which is “practices used for prevention and cure from current and future diseases along with the promotion of good health.” It is slightly different from what is given in hospitals and nursing centres. Care that is given in hospitals is a very small part of primary health care. Primary healthcare is a whole set of methods, rules and ideas for a healthy life. No matter if a person is facing any type of illness or he is completely fine, everyone needs primary healthcare.

As per a report published by the World Health Organisation- about 930 million people worldwide are at risk of falling into poverty due to out-of-pocket health spending of 10% or more of their household budget. WHO also said-Scaling up primary health care (PHC) interventions across low and middle-income countries could save 60 million lives and increases average life expectancy by 3.7 years by 2030.

Accessibility

Primary health care should be within everyone’s reach so that people can get the doctors and related if needed. It should be provided to everyone disregarding geo-location, race, caste and class. No one should be discriminated against for any reason. Primary health care is one of the fundamental things needed for a good life.

Developing countries often fail to fulfil the primary health care needs of their citizens. Masses living in these countries don’t get nutritious food, clean water and medicine when required. To help nations solving this problem WHO recommends that every country should allocate or reallocate an additional 1% of its GDP to PHC from government and external funding sources.

Public Participation

There is no point in running health campaigns if people are not excitingly participating in them. Healthcare service providers should understand their responsibility of educating people. Masses in rural areas still do not welcome modern healthcare practices as they do not trust them.

Many countries have recently witnessed a lot of resistance by their peoples during the covid-19 vaccine drive. People denied getting jabbed by doctors coming to their locality. In addition to this, many countries faced protests asking to stop tyranny. The Washington Post published a news article confirming around 150 people got fired by a hospital body in opposition to getting jabbed forcefully.

Health Promotion

The promotion of health is an integral part of Primary health care. It is defined as practices adapted to promote the good health of any individual or society. Health promotion also focuses on changes in habits to get paced results. Educating people about the harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco products, consultation regarding a balanced diet, cleanliness and exercise are some of the examples of Health promotion. Health promotion is a combined approach of integrating physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of a person's well-being to promote idea health for those involved. It is the articulation of ongoing causes of illness through lifestyle changes, while also addressing new or emerging problems.

Any country must improve the physical and mental health of their citizens as it helps to make their citizens stay healthy, happy and productive over the long term. Promoting a healthy lifestyle is also important for good military and economic relations. Nations with a large number of weak or malnourished citizens are considered as very scourge thing globally. 

Appropriate Technology

Digital therapeutics is also one of those examples. The entire health industry experienced drastic changes with the use of technology. Primary healthcare also observed these changes.

Technology has advanced exponentially in the last four decades. It completely transformed the way we see primary healthcare. Health records can now be stored and monitored with apps and software. The use of advanced technology, including Telehealth and online ordering for supplies, has led to a notable increase in out-of-pocket spending for patients. Electronic health record systems have been available to patients for several years in the developed countries. However, the implementation is still lacking in developing countries. Developing countries need to get updated in terms of technology to promote primary health care.  

Inter-sector Cooperation

Primary health care is a very dependent sector. It needs coordination and support from different sectors to work smoothly. Healthcare is possible when people eat nutritious food and live in a pollution-free environment. Both are two contrasting things as the Agriculture sector is responsible for food quality and industries are responsible for pollution. Primary healthcare also restricts people from consuming alcohol and tobacco products. In this manner, the liquor industry should help the primary health care sector by regulating liquor supply in the market. There are various other examples like; pharmaceuticals, sanitation and water supply sector, which should coordinate with primary healthcare providers and aid them in working flawlessly.