The effects of a people-centred model on longitudinality of care and utilization pattern of healthcare services--Brazilian evidence

People-centred primary health care: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) are vital for ensuring comprehensive care towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC). The World Health Organisation (WHO) envisions IPCHS in delivery and access to health services. This scoping review aimed to synthesize available evidence on people-centred primary health care (PHC) and primary care.

METHODS

We conducted a scoping review of published literature on people-centred PHC. We searched eight databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar) using search terms related to people-centred and integrated PHC/primary care services. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) checklist to select studies. We analyzed data and generated themes using Gale's framework thematic analysis method. Themes were explained under five components of the WHO IPCHS framework.

RESULTS

A total of fifty-two studies were included in the review; most were from high-income countries (HICs), primarily focusing on patient-centred primary care. Themes under each component of the framework included: engaging and empowering people and communities (engagement of community, empowerment and empathy); strengthening governance and accountability (organizational leadership, and mutual accountability); reorienting the model of care (residential care, care for multimorbidity, participatory care); coordinating services within and across sectors (partnership with stakeholders and sectors, and coordination of care); creating an enabling environment and funding support (flexible management for change; and enabling environment).

CONCLUSIONS

Several people-centred PHC and primary care approaches are implemented in HICs but have little priority in low-income countries. Potential strategies for people-centred PHC could be engaging end users in delivering integrated care, ensuring accountability, and implementing a residential model of care in coordination with communities. Flexible management options could create an enabling environment for strengthening health systems to deliver people-centred PHC services.

Integration measurement and its applications in low- and middle-income country health systems: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Despite growing interest in and commitment to integration, or integrated care, the concept is ill-defined and the resulting evidence base fragmented, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Underlying this challenge is a lack of coherent approaches to measure the extent of integration and how this influences desired outcomes. The aim of this scoping review is to identify measurement approaches for integration in LMICs and map them for future use.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping reviews was followed. We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed literature measuring integration in LMICs across three databases and screened identified papers by predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A modified version of the Rainbow Model for Integrated Care guided charting and analysis of the data.

RESULTS

We included 99 studies. Studies were concentrated in the Africa region and most frequently focused on the integration of HIV care with other services. A range of definitions and methods were identified, with no single approach for the measurement of integration dominating the literature. Measurement of clinical integration was the most common, with indicators focused on measuring receipt of two or more services provided at a single point of time. Organizational and professional integration indicators were focused on inter- and intra-organizational communication, collaboration, coordination, and continuity of care, while functional integration measured common information systems or patient records. Gaps were identified in measuring systems and normative integration. Few tools were validated or publicly available for future use.

CONCLUSION

We identified a wide range of recent approaches used to measure integration in LMICs. Our findings underscore continued challenges with lack of conceptual cohesion and fragmentation which limits how integration is understood in practice.

A health-systems journey towards more people-centred care: lessons from neglected tropical disease programme integration in Liberia

BACKGROUND

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are associated with high levels of morbidity and disability as a result of stigma and social exclusion. To date, the management of NTDs has been largely biomedical. Consequently, ongoing policy and programme reform within the NTD community is demanding the development of more holistic disease management, disability and inclusion (DMDI) approaches. Simultaneously, integrated, people-centred health systems are increasingly viewed as essential to ensure the efficient, effective and sustainable attainment of Universal Health Coverage. Currently, there has been minimal consideration of the extent to which the development of holistic DMDI strategies are aligned to and can support the development of people-centred health systems. The Liberian NTD programme is at the forefront of trying to establish a more integrated, person-centred approach to the management of NTDs and provides a unique learning site for health systems decision makers to consider how shifts in vertical programme delivery can support overarching systems strengthening efforts that are designed to promote the attainment of health equity.

METHODS

We use a qualitative case study approach to explore how policy and programme reform of the NTD programme in Liberia supports systems change to enable the development of integrated people-centred services.

RESULTS

A cumulation of factors, catalysed by the shock to the health system presented by the Ebola epidemic, created a window of opportunity for policy change. However, programmatic change aimed at achieving person-centred practice was more challenging. Deep reliance on donor funding for health service delivery in Liberia limits the availability of flexible funding, and the ongoing funding prioritization towards specific disease conditions limits flexibility in health systems design that can shape more person-centred care.

CONCLUSION

Sheikh et al.'s four key aspects of people centred health systems, that is, (1) putting peoples voices and needs first; (2) people centredness in service delivery; (3) relationships matter: health systems as social institutions; and (4) values drive people centred health systems, enable the illumination of varying push and pull factors that can facilitate or hinder the alignment of DMDI interventions with the development of people-centred health systems to support disease programme integration and the attainment of health equity.

Avaliação da assistência à saúde da criança na Atenção Primária no Brasil: revisão sistemática de métodos e resultados

Resumo Essa revisão sistemática objetivou analisar os métodos e instrumentos, bem como os principais resultados, das avaliações de qualidade da assistência à saúde da criança na APS no Brasil. Estudo realizado de acordo com as recomendações do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), em consulta às bases de dados MEDLINE, LILACS, IBECS e BDENF, PUBMED, PsycNET, Cochrane e CINAHL (1994-2016), com foco em crianças de 0 a 5 anos. Foram identificados 3.004 artigos. Após a triagem inicial e a aplicação dos critérios STROBE e SRQR, 21 artigos foram incluídos na revisão. Cerca de 52% dos artigos foram realizados na região sudeste e 95,2% publicados a partir de 2010. O principal instrumento de avaliação utilizado foi o Primary Care Assessment Tool (52,4%). A qualidade da assistência a criança mostrou-se deficitária, com limitações no acesso aos serviços, carência de infraestrutura e baixa qualificação de profissionais. Houve aumento significativo dos estudos avaliativos nos últimos anos no Brasil. Apesar dos avanços na assistência à saúde no país, os limitados índices de qualidade apontam a necessidade de superação de desafios para garantia da atenção integral à saúde da criança.

Longitudinalidade do cuidado na atenção primária: avaliação na perspectiva dos usuários

Resumo Objetivo: avaliar a longitudinalidade do cuidado na Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS) na perspectiva dos usuários, verificando a associação com o porte populacional, índice de desenvolvimento humano e cobertura de Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF) entre os municípios de uma Regional de Saúde no Sul do Brasil. Método: estudo transversal, realizado com 1.076 usuários adultos da APS de 32 municípios da 4ᵃ Coordenadoria Regional de Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, de fevereiro a junho de 2015. Os dados foram coletados com o instrumento Primary Care Assessment Tool versão adulto e analisados com o programa Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Para a comparação de médias utilizou-se o teste Mann-Whitney e Kruskal Wallis. Resultados: o grau de afiliação foi avaliado com alto escore (8,6; IC95%:8,5-8,8) e a longitudinalidade obteve um escore insatisfatório (6,4; IC95%:6,3-6,5). As fragilidades relacionadas ao atributo foram a relação interpessoal entre o usuário e profissional; o reconhecimento do usuário em sua integralidade e o preparo dos profissionais para auxiliar os usuários. A longitudinalidade foi melhor avaliada nos municípios com menor porte populacional, menor índice de desenvolvimento humano e com maior cobertura de ESF. Conclusão: a longitudinalidade é insatisfatória e revela a necessidade de reorientação da APS e da formação profissional, contudo a maior cobertura da ESF sugere que esse modelo assistencial contribui para qualificar esse atributo.

Assessment of the essential attributes of Primary Health Care for children

OBJECTIVE

To identify the presence and extent of essential attributes in primary health care services for children, focusing on the evaluation of structure and process.

METHOD

Evaluative, quantitative study carried out in 23 traditional basic health units in a city in Parana State, with 548 caregivers of children under 12 years old, using the Primary Care Assessment Instrument (PCATool Brazil), child version. Essential and general scores of the primary care were calculated according to the methodology proposed, with a cut-off score ≥6.6.

RESULTS

The scores of the essential attributes in relation to structure are: Accessibility (5.5), Kinship (6.9), Integrality of care - Services Available (6.0) and Coordination - System information (7.4). As for the Process, the following results were obtained: First visit - Use (8.6), Longitudinally (6.1), Integrality - Services Provided (6.1) and Coordination - Integration of Care (6.9).

CONCLUSION

The essential score was 6.6 and the general score was 6.3, showing weak focus on primary health care.

Longitudinality in Primary Health Care: a comparison between care models

OBJECTIVE

to evaluate the attribute longitudinality in different models of assistance in Primary Health Care and observe its association with demographic, socioeconomic and health care characteristics.

METHOD

a cross-sectional study, carried out in 2015 with 1076 adult users of primary care services in the 32 cities of the 4th Regional Health Care Core of Rio Grande do Sul State. The Primary Care Assessment Tool was used with definition of low (<6.6) or high (≥6.6) score for longitudinality. The association with independent variables was observed through the Poisson regression.

RESULTS

the attribute was better assessed in the Family Health Strategy and associate with age, housing health region and care model.

CONCLUSION

the study points out the Family Health Strategy as a promoter of longitudinal care, and so, it suggests the expansion of this assistance model coverage for quality improvement in health care.

Using concept mapping to identify policy options and interventions towards people-centred health care services: a multi stakeholders perspective

BACKGROUND

People-centred health care (PCC) services are identified by the WHO as important building blocks towards universal health coverage. In 2016 the WHO formulated a comprehensive framework on integrated PCC services based on an international expert consultation. Yet, expert opinions may fail to recognize the needs of all health system stakeholders. Therefore, a consultation method that includes the health workforce and laypersons, can be instrumental to elaborate this framework more in-depth. This research sought to identify participants' perspectives on policy options and interventions to achieve people-centred health care services from a multi stakeholder perspective.

METHODS

Study participants, both laypersons and health professionals, were recruited in Belgium. A total of 53 participants engaged in one of the seven concept mapping workshops. In this workshop the concept mapping methodology developed by Trochim, a highly structured qualitative group method for brainstorming and idea sharing, was used to generate and structure participants´ perspectives on what is needed to achieve PCC services. The method was validated using the WHO framework.

RESULTS

The seven workshops together resulted in 452 different statements that were structured in a framework forming 35 clusters and four overarching domains. The four domains with their most prominent clusters were: (1) governance & policy with intersectoral health policies and affordable health for all; (2) health workforce with excellent communication skills, appreciation of health literacy challenges and respectful attitude based on cultural self-awareness; (3) integrated health services with a greater emphasis on prevention, health promotion and the availability of health education and (4) patient, person and community empowerment and participation with support for informal care, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and contextualised health education. Additionally, this study generated ideas that fitted into every single approach described in the WHO framework.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study shows that in order to achieve PCC a participative approach involving all stakeholders at all levels is needed. The concept mapping process is one of these approaches that brings together diverse stakeholders and foments their egalitarian and respectful participation. The framework that resulted from this study can inform future debate regarding planning, implementation and monitoring of PCC.

Questionnaires that measure the quality of relationships between patients and primary care providers: a systematic review

Background

International guidance on models of care stress the importance of good quality, continuous patient-provider relationships to support high quality and efficient care and hospital avoidance. However, assessing the quality of patient-provider relationships is challenging due to its experiential nature. The aim of this study was to undertake a systematic review to identify questionnaires previously developed or used to assess the quality of continuous relationships between patients and their provider in primary care.

Methods

MEDLINE, PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and SCOPUS databases were searched for English language studies published between 2009 and 2017. Key terms used identified studies conducted in the primary care setting examining relationships between patients and providers. Studies that focused on the conceptualisation, development, testing or review of a questionnaire, or studies that used a questionnaire for assessing the quality of continuous relationships between patients and providers were eligible. Studies that did not assess quality via a questionnaire, only assessed single aspects of relationships, only assessed single encounters, assessed transitions between settings or assessed relationships using an index were excluded. Information on validity testing of each relevant questionnaire identified from articles was reviewed to inform recommendations for future research and evaluation.

Results

Twenty-seven studies met the eligibility criteria, including 14 unique questionnaires. The questionnaires were diverse in length, scope, focus and level of validity testing. Five questionnaires were considered not feasible for future use due to size and lack of development work. Three questionnaires were considered strongest candidates for use in future work based on being relevant to the topic and primary care setting, freely available in English and not needing additional pilot work prior to use. These three questionnaires were the Care Continuity Across Levels of Care Scale, the Nijmegan Continuity Questionnaire and the Patient-Doctor Depth of Relationship Tool.

Conclusions

This study provides an overview of 14 unique questionnaires that have been used to assess the quality of continuous relationships between patients and primary care providers. The decision to use one of the questionnaires in future work requires careful consideration, including the scope, length, validation testing, accessibility of the questionnaires and their alignment with the initiative being evaluated.

How to Integrate HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Namibia, the Epako Clinic Case Study

INTRODUCTION

During the past two decades, HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health services in Namibia have been provided in silos, with high fragmentation. As a consequence of this, quality and efficiency of services in Primary Health Care has been compromised.

METHODS

We conducted an operational research (observational pre-post study) in a public health facility in Namibia. A health facility assessment was conducted before and after the integration of health services. A person-centred integrated model was implemented to integrate all health services provided at the health facility in addition to HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health services. Comprehensive services are provided by each health worker to the same patients over time (longitudinality), on a daily basis (accessibility) and with a good external referral system (coordination). Prevalence rates of time flows and productivity were done.

RESULTS

Integrated services improved accessibility, stigma and quality of antenatal care services by improving the provider-patient communication, reducing the time that patients stay in the clinic in 16% and reducing the waiting times in 14%. In addition, nurse productivity improved 85% and the expected time in the health facility was reduced 24% without compromising the uptake of TB, HIV, outpatient, antenatal care or first visit family planning services. Given the success on many indicators resulting from integration of services, the goal of this paper was to describe "how" health services have been integrated, the "process" followed and presenting some "results" from the integrated clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that HIV and SRH services can be effectively integrated by following the person-centred integrated model. Based on the Namibian experience on "how" to integrate health services and the "process" to achieve it, other African countries can replicate the model to move away from the silo approach and contribute to the achievement of Universal Health Coverage.

A structuration framework for bridging the macro-micro divide in health-care governance

BACKGROUND

Extant studies demonstrate that macro (hierarchical) and micro (relational) governance initiatives in health-care settings continue to be developed in isolation rather than interactively. Government-driven hierarchical governance endeavours that guide health-care reforms and medical practice are disconnected from micro-level physician-patient interactions being unable to account for patient preferences in the macro-level policymaking.

METHOD/OBJECTIVE

We undertake a review of the recent literature to couch our argument for a unified governance framework for bridging the macro-micro divide in medical contexts. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach to health-care delivery, we maintain that the (strong) structuration theory provides a fruitful opportunity for narrowing the gap between hierarchical and relational governance.

DISCUSSION

Emphasizing the coexistence of institutional structures and human agency, the (strong) structuration theory elucidates how macro and micro governance devices shape each other's structure via mutually reinforcing cycles of influence. Micro-level encounters between patients and physicians give rise to social structures that constitute the constraining and enabling forces through which macro-level health-care infrastructures are altered and reproduced over time. Permitting to illustrate how patients' agency can effectively emerge from complex networks of clinical trajectories, the advanced structuration framework for macro-micro governance integration avoids the extremes of paternalism and autonomy through a balanced consideration of professional judgement and patient preferences.

CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS

The macro-micro integration of governance efforts is a critical issue in both high-income states, where medical institutions attempt to deploy substantial realignment efforts, and developing nations, which are lagging behind due to leadership weaknesses and lower levels of governmental investment. A key priority for regulators is the identification of relevant systems to support this holistic governance by providing clinicians with needed resources for focusing on patient advocacy and installing enabling mechanisms for incorporating patients' inputs in health-care reforms and policymaking.

Developing a programme theory to explain how primary health care teams learn to respond to intimate partner violence: a realist case-study

Background

Despite the progress made on policies and programmes to strengthen primary health care teams’ response to Intimate Partner Violence, the literature shows that encounters between women exposed to IPV and health-care providers are not always satisfactory, and a number of barriers that prevent individual health-care providers from responding to IPV have been identified. We carried out a realist case study, for which we developed and tested a programme theory that seeks to explain how, why and under which circumstances a primary health care team in Spain learned to respond to IPV.

Methods

A realist case study design was chosen to allow for an in-depth exploration of the linkages between context, intervention, mechanisms and outcomes as they happen in their natural setting. The first author collected data at the primary health care center La Virgen (pseudonym) through the review of documents, observation and interviews with health systems’ managers, team members, women patients, and members of external services. The quality of the IPV case management was assessed with the PREMIS tool.

Results

This study found that the health care team at La Virgen has managed 1) to engage a number of staff members in actively responding to IPV, 2) to establish good coordination, mutual support and continuous learning processes related to IPV, 3) to establish adequate internal referrals within La Virgen, and 4) to establish good coordination and referral systems with other services. Team and individual level factors have triggered the capacity and interest in creating spaces for team leaning, team work and therapeutic responses to IPV in La Virgen, although individual motivation strongly affected this mechanism. Regional interventions did not trigger individual and/ or team responses but legitimated the workings of motivated professionals.

Conclusions

The primary health care team of La Virgen is involved in a continuous learning process, even as participation in the process varies between professionals. This process has been supported, but not caused, by a favourable policy for integration of a health care response to IPV. Specific contextual factors of La Virgen facilitated the uptake of the policy. To some extent, the performance of La Virgen has the potential to shape the IPV learning processes of other primary health care teams in Murcia.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0899-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.