Primary health care is defined as essential care that is universally accessible, affordable, and acceptable to all people. It has several key elements including education on health issues, nutrition promotion, water and sanitation, maternal and child care, immunization, treatment of common diseases, and provision of essential drugs. The principles of primary health care are that it uses appropriate technology that can be maintained locally, coordinates between different community sectors, encourages community participation, and distributes health services equitably among all people.

1. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
Dr. Preeti Tiwari

2. Set induction

3. Specific learning objectives
• To learn definition of primary health care.
• To enumerate elements and principles of
primary health care with suitable examples.

4. Introduction to primary health care
“ Health by the people, placing people’s health in
people’s hand”
• Alma –Ata (1978)
• New approach to health care system
• First proposed by Bhore Committee (1946)

5. Definition of primary health care
• “Primary health care is an essential care made
universally accessible to individuals and
acceptable to them, through their full
participation and at cost that community and
country can afford”

6. Elements of primary health care
1. Education concerning prevailing health
problems and method of preventing and
controlling them.
2. Promotion of food supply and proper
nutrition.
3. An adequate supply of safe water and basic
sanitation.

7. 4. Maternal and child health care including
family planning.
5. Immunization against major infectious
disease
6. Prevention and control of locally endemic
disease.

8. 7. Appropriate treatment of common diseases
and injuries.
8. Provision of essential drugs.

9. Principles of primary health care
1. Appropriate technology
2. Intersectoral coordination
3. Community participation
4. Equitable distribution

10. Appropriate technology
• “ Technology that is scientifically sound,
adaptable to local needs and acceptable to
those who apply it and those for whom it is
used and it can be maintained by the people
themselves in keeping with principle of self
reliance with the resources the community and
country can afford”

11. • “appropriate” is emphasized - ??
• Example for appropriate technology??

12. • ORS– socially acceptable and financially more
feasible .

13. Intersectoral coordination
• Component of primary health care cannot be
provided by health sector alone.

14. • Animal husbandry, food, industry, education,
housing, public works, communication.
• Planning with other sector – avoid unnecessary
duplication of work

15. • Example of intersectoral coordination :-
• Disaster management

16. Pulse Polio Programme

17. Community participation
• Universal coverage by primary health care is
not possible without community participation.
• Involvement of individuals, family or
communities in promotion of their own health
and welfare.

18. • How- Involvement of community- planning,
implementation and maintenance of health
services.
• Ex- village health guides, and trained dais

19. Equitable distribution
• Health services must be shared equally by all
the people
• Equity or equitable
distribution
of health services ????

21. • Why equitable distribution ??
• Primary health care services aims at shifting
center of gravity of the health

22. Summary
• Definition
• Principles of primary health care

23. Evaluation
• Definition of primary health care
• Enumerate principles of primary health care
• Enumerate elements of primary health care

24. THANKYOU