Operational Definitions of Attributes of Primary Health Care: Consensus Among Canadian Experts
Ann Fam Med Haggerty et al.
5: 336
The Article in Brief
Operational Definitions of Attributes of Primary Health Care: Consensus Among Canadian Experts
Jeannie Haggerty, PhD, and colleagues
Background In 2004, the authors consulted with Canadian primary health care experts. Their goal was to develop definitions of key primary care system features to be evaluated in Canada’s health care system.
What This Study Found This process resulted in 25 operational definitions of features of primary health care. Those that are specific to primary care are first-contact, accessibility, relational continuity, family-centered care, population orientation, and intersectoral teamwork. (The last 2 refer to community-oriented models of primary care.)
Implications
- These measurable definitions will help in efforts to assess initiatives to renew primary health care and will serve as a guide for instrument selection.
- To get a valid and global evaluation of primary health care, data are needed from a variety of sources, including patients, clinicians, and administrative data.
