WHO European Observatory: Implementing the Primary Health Care Approach:

Description of impact

The implementation of the primary health care approach, a key strategy for achieving universal health coverage. It provides a comprehensive review of evidence regarding policies and their impact, and highlights the importance of primary health care in shaping and reshaping health systems to make them sustainable. The report utilises our work on the Strength of Primary Care in Japan - notably in relation to primary care workforce challenges. The document emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to health and well-being, rooted in the principles of equity, human rights, and social justice. It also recognizes the importance of designing and delivering people-centred health services that address all the health needs of people, both physical and mental, acute and chronic, communicable and noncommunicable. The report provides examples of how primary health care is being implemented in practice, and aims to inspire policy-makers and health care workers to turn this humane vision of primary health care into concrete reality. It also acknowledges the gaps in knowledge and the need for further research and data collection to thoroughly study the impact of primary health care across time. The report emphasizes the potential of primary health care to drive transformative change and ensure that health for all becomes a reality in our lifetime.