Primary Health Care

May 1977 -30th

— World Health Assembly decided that the main health target of the government and WHO is the attainment of a level of health that would permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life by the year 2000

September 6-12, 1978

— First International Conference on PHC in Alma Ata, Russia (USSR) The Alma Ata Declaration stated that PHC was the key to attain the “health for all” goal

October 19, 1979

— Letter of Instruction (LOI) 949, the legal basis of PHC was signed by Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos, which adopted PHC as an approach towards the design, development and implementation of programs focusing on health development at community level.

Primary Health Care 

— essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community by means acceptable to them, through their full participation and at cost that the community can afford at every stage of development.

— a practical approach to making health benefits within the reach of all people

— an approach to health development, which is carried out through a set of activities and whose ultimate aim is the continuous improvement and maintenance of health status

Goal or Primary Health Care

— HEALTH FOR ALL FILIPINOS by the year 2000 AND HEALTH IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE by the year 2020.

— An improved state of health and quality of life for all people attained through SELF RELIANCE

4 A’s = Accessibility, Availability, Affordability & Acceptability, Appropriateness of health services.

— The health services should be present where the supposed recipients are. They should make use of the available resources within the community, wherein the focus would be more on health promotion and prevention of illness.

Community Participation

— heart and soul of PHC

People are the center, object and subject of development.

— Thus, the success of any undertaking that aims at serving the people is dependent on people’s participation at all levels of decision-making; planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating. Any undertaking must also be based on the people’s needs and problems (PCF, 1990)

Self-reliance

— Through community participation and cohesiveness of people’s organization they can generate support for health care through social mobilization, networking and mobilization of local resources.

— Leadership and management skills should be developed among these people. Existence of sustained health care facilities managed by the people is some of the major indicators that the community is leading to self-reliance

Partnership between the community and the health agencies in the provision of quality of life.

— Providing linkages between the government and the non government organization and people’s organization.

Recognition of interrelationship between the health and development

— Health- Is not merely the absence of disease. Neither is it only a state of physical and mental well-being. Health being a social phenomenon recognizes the interplay of political, socio-cultural and economic factors as its determinant. Good Health therefore, is manifested by the progressive improvements in the living conditions and quality of life enjoyed by the community residents

— Development- is the quest for an improved quality of life for all. Development is multidimensional. It has political, social, cultural, institutional and environmental dimensions (Gonzales 1994). Therefore, it is measured by the ability of people to satisfy their basic needs.

Social Mobilization

— It enhances people participation or governance, support system provided by the Government, networking and developing secondary leaders.

Decentralization

— This ensures empowerment and that empowerment can only be facilitated if the administrative structure provides local level political structures with more substantive responsibilities for development initiators. This also facilities proper allocation of budgetary resources.

Elevating Health to a Comprehensive and Sustained National Effort.

— Attaining Health for all Filipino will require expanding participation in health and health related programs whether as service provider or beneficiary. Empowerment to parents, families and communities to make decisions of their health is really the desired outcome.

— Advocacy must be directed to National and Local policy making to elicit support and commitment to major health concerns through legislations, budgetary and logistical considerations.

Promoting and Supporting Community Managed Health Care

— The health in the hands of the people brings the government closest to the people. It necessitates a process of capacity building of communities and organizations to plan, implement and evaluate health programs at their levels

Increasing Efficiencies in the Health Sector

— Using appropriate technology will make services and resources required for their delivery, effective, affordable, accessible and culturally acceptable. The development of human resources must correspond to the actual needs of the nation and the policies it upholds such as PHC. The DOH will continue to support and assist both public and private institutions particularly in faculty development, enhancement of relevant curricula and development of standard teaching materials.

Advancing Essential National Health Research

— Is an integrated strategy for organizing and managing research using intersectoral, multidisciplinary and scientific approach to health programming and delivery.

Primary Prevention

— relates to activities directed at preventing a problem before it occurs by altering susceptibility or reducing exposure for susceptible individuals.

Secondary Prevention

— early detection and prompt intervention during the period of early disease pathogenesis. -implemented after a problem has begun but before signs and symptoms appear and targets populations who have risk factors (Keller).

Tertiary Prevention

— targets populations that have experienced disease or injury and focuses on limitations of disability and rehabilitation. -aims to reduce the effects of disease and injury and to restore individuals to their optimum level of functioning.

Universal Health Care

— also referred to as Kalusugan Pangkalahatan (KP), is the “provision to every Filipino of the highest possible quality of health care that is accessible, efficient, equitably distributed, adequately funded, fairly financed, and appropriately used by an informed and empowered public”

— It is a government mandate aiming to ensure that every Filipino shall receive affordable and quality health benefits. This involves providing adequate resources – health human resources, health facilities, and health financing.

— was built upon strategies of two previous platforms of reform: the initial Health Sector Reform Agenda and FOURmula One for health.

— The Aquino administration puts it as the availability and accessibility of health services and necessities for all Filipinos.

Health Financing 

— instrument to increase resources for health that will be effectively allocated and utilized to improve the financial protection of the poor and the vulnerable sectors.

Service delivery

— instrument to transform the health service delivery structure to address variations in health service utilization and health outcomes across socioeconomic variables

Policy, Standards, and regulation

— instrument to ensure equitable access to health services, essential medicines, and technologies of assured quality, availability and safety.

Governance for health

— instrument to establish the mechanisms for efficiency, transparency, and accountability, and prevent opportunities for fraud.

Human Resources for Health

— instrument to ensure that all Filipinos have access to professional health care providers at the appropriate level of care.

Health information

— instrument to establish a modern information system that shall: a. Provide evidence for policy and program development; b. Support for immediate and efficient provision of health care and management of province-wide health systems.