Primary health care team members need to communicate effectively with each other in order to provide integrated care. Using interviews with practice managers about team practice and observation of cross-disciplinary team meetings, we describe communication in primary health care teams, explore the relationship between communication and team effectiveness, and discuss the ramifications of our fi...

Existing literature on the marketing of primary healthcare services was reviewed to determine the role of registered nurses in this regard. The systematic review included five searches and ensured wide coverage of the results of available primary research studies on the topic. The results were summarised and the role of registered nurses in the marketing of primary healthcare services was ident...

OBJECTIVE To examine changes in primary care in London in the 11 years since the Acheson report on primary health care in inner London. DESIGN Analysis of key data from the family health services authority performance indicators and from the Department of Health; study of trends since the time of the Acheson report; examination of the provision of primary care in 1990-1 and its relation to he...

BACKGROUND The EUprimecare project-team assessed the perception of primary health care (PHC) professionals and patients on quality of organization of PHC systems in the participating countries: Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. This article presents the aggregated opinions, expectations and priorities of patients and professionals along some main dimensions of qual...

BACKGROUND It has been documented from a number of out-of-hours primary health care services that the utilisation of the services declines with increasing travel distances. In this study we have investigated the correlation between travel distances and the use of out-of-hours medical services for all Norwegian municipalities that provide such services at a single permanent casualty clinic round...

Considerable evidence shows that children and families who are vulnerable because of their social and material circumstances shoulder a disproportionate burden of disease and are more likely to face both social and structural challenges in accessing healthcare. Addressing these issues in children is particularly important as evidence has demonstrated that inequities in health are cumulative ove...

Developing countries that were early, enthusiastic adopters of primary health care often developed an extensive - but eventually dilapidated and under utilized - network of public clinics at the grassroots. As paradigms and investment patterns of health sector reform have shifted, the question of what role these public clinics can meaningfully play, and how best to revitalize them, has become i...

BACKGROUND Although anxiety is quite prevalent in late life, its impact on disability, well-being, and health care utilization of older persons has not been studied. Older persons are a highly relevant age group for studying the consequences of anxiety, since their increasing numbers put an extra strain on already limited health care resources. METHODS Data of a large community-based random p...

BACKGROUND The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented the Polytrauma System of Care to meet the health care needs of military and veterans with multiple injuries returning from combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Studies are needed to systematically assess barriers to use of comprehensive and exclusive VA healthcare services from the perspective of veterans with polytrauma ...

As of 2005, the literature on the benefits of primary care oriented health systems was consistent in showing greater effectiveness, greater efficiency, and greater equity. In the ensuing five years, nothing changed that conclusion, but there is now greater understanding of the mechanisms by which the benefits of primary care are achieved. We now know that, within certain bounds, neither the wea...