Selected annotaded bibliography on primary health care in the Americas

Abstract

[Introduction]. In order to review the evidence base for primary healthy care (PHC), we conducted a systematic review of the literature, including peer-reviewed journal articles, international organization and government official publications and working documents, statements and policy recommendations from international meetings and advocacy groups, and reports of field experiences from a variety of international, government, and non-governmental organizations. PubMed and Bireme databases were searched for all articles containing “primary health care” in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French. Search terms were also combined with the PHC dimensions (e.g. access, equity, first contact/gate-keeping, comprehensiveness, coordination, integrated care, community participation, family orientation). All articles and publications identified were culled to reveal additional references. The PAHO/WHO PHC working group was also solicited to identify key publications or authors that they believed were essential for inclusion in the literature review. The potential literature for review was vast. A search of the term “primary health care” on the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed database results in 33,973 hits (see Graph 1). In order to narrow the scope, the literature reviewed here focuses mainly on research undertaken during the past decade and emphasizes experiences from the countries of the Americas. The final selection of articles referenced here was made based on a) the technical quality of the research presented; b) the historic importance of the document; and c) the ability of the article to illustrate a specific dimension or lessons learned for the renewal of PHC in the Americas. The objective was to illustrate the diversity of PHC experiences while taking stock of the existing evidence base. In general, where literature reviews or meta-analyses were available they were selected for review rather than abstracting every individual article contained within them.