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Primary Healthcare Nursing Module
AIHA's Primary Healthcare Partnership Program - Overview
After decades of neglect in a healthcare system that placed the greater part of its emphasis and limited resources on specialization and hospital-based acute care medicine, the value of primary care is now being recognized in the NIS and CEE. Ministries of Health in these countries are seeking to strengthen primary care through health reform initiatives. Investments by international donors and lending agencies are helping to rebuild and equip primary care facilities. Schools of the health professions are developing curricula to train a new generation of "family" physicians and nurses while seeking solutions to the daunting task of retraining tens of thousands of specialists to meet primary care needs. AIHA Primary Healthcare (PHC) partnerships, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), are at the vanguard of these critical efforts to refashion healthcare delivery systems in these regions.Many of the PHC partnerships established model clinics—the remainder focused on improving services and establishing new community-based outreach programs; regardless of their focus, however, each clinic provides integrated, accessible medical services ranging from preventive measures such as vaccinations, health literacy promotion, and early screening for illnesses to curative and rehabilitative treatment of acute and chronic diseases. Prior to developing and equipping the new clinics, partners conducted community health assessments to determine the healthcare priorities that their clinic must address. Through these community health assessments and the creation of community advisory boards, community ownership and commitment was established and long-term sustainability enhanced. In addition to serving as models for replication the partnership clinics are also serving as training sites for primary care physician and nursing residents, thus providing a new generation of health professionals with much- needed practical experience.
To enable primary care professionals to carry out their role as effective caregivers, all PHC partnerships established training programs and assisted in the development and implementation of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Emphasizing health promotion and disease prevention, as well as the treatment of chronic diseases using evidence-based medicine, are key elements of the primary care model, as is the development of effective community outreach services. This community-based web of support integrates healthcare into the overall framework of social services and increases opportunities to reach the broadest segment of the population. Within this network, primary care practitioners fulfill the critical function of ensuring that patients receive the proper combination of health services and educational information to meet their individual needs.
Continue reading about AIHA's Primary Healthcare Nursing program.
