Health Services and Community Development

Principles of Primary Health Care

• Services should be physically, socially, and financially accessible to everyone.
• Five key elements: manpower development, community participation, appropriate technology, multi-sectoral approach, and pillars of PHC.

Pillars of Primary Health Care

• Health system: sustained by integrated, functional, and mutually supportive referral systems.
• Prioritize essential health problems: addresses main health care problems in the community through promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services.
• Scientifically, practically, and sound: based on the application of social, biomedical, and health services research.
• Culturally sound: socially acceptable methods and technology, reflecting economic conditions and socio-cultural and political characteristics of the country and community.

Introduction to Community Health

• Main objective: to provide holistic care to the community.
• Specific objectives: describe community health, primary health care, key household practices, recognize potential health hazards, discuss food hygiene and water sanitation, and describe ideal housing conditions and waste management.

Definition and Purpose of Community Health Nursing

• Definition: synthesis of nursing and public health practice applied to promoting and protecting the health of the population.
• Purpose: to preserve, protect, promote, or maintain health and improve the quality of health and life within the community.

What is Health?

• A state of physical, mental, and social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease and infirmity (WHO).

What is a Community?

• A collection of people who interact with one another and whose common interest or characteristics gives them a sense of unity and belonging.
• A group of people in a defined geographical area with common goals and objectives and potential for interacting with one another.

History of Community Health Nursing

• Early home care: female family members and friends attended to the sick at home, also done by religious groups and charitable organizations.

Health Service Delivery Point

• Where patients receive treatment and supplies, entitled to cost-effective and quality services meeting pre-established standards.

Community Mobilization and Participation

• Community mobilization: a capacity-building process to identify and plan health activities, enabling local people to develop commitment, skills, and knowledge.
• Community participation: the involvement of people in community projects to solve their own problems, enabling individuals and groups to take action to facilitate change.

Immunization and Vaccination

• Immunization: the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent.
• Vaccination: the administration of antigenic material to stimulate an individual's immune system to develop adaptive immunity to a pathogen.

Obligations of the Ministry of Health on Vaccination Services

• Provision of all routine vaccination services free of charge, except for foreign travel.
• Vitamin A supplementation to be provided free of charge.
• Main strategy for delivery: through health facilities (fixed outlets) and outreach services.
• The Ministry of Health shall ensure adequate and reliable supply of vaccination-related logistics, promote the uptake of vaccination services, and continuously review immunization service delivery.