Health for All Through Primary Health Care

Overview

This course explores why primary health care is central for achieving Health for All. It provides examples of how primary health care has been instrumental in approaching this goal in selected populations and how the principles of primary health care can guide future policies and actions. Two of the most inspiring, least understood, and most often derided terms in global health discourse are “Health for All” and “Primary Health Care.” In this course, we will explore these terms in the context of global health, their origins and meanings, the principles upon which they rest, and examples of how these principles have been implemented at both small and large scale. We will also explore some ultra-low-cost approaches to Health for All through primary health care, and the promise that primary health care holds for eventually achieving Health for All. Each module of this course consists of approximately one hour or lecture, approximately one hour of additional readings or video presentations, and two additional hours devoted to studying for each of the quizzes, writing and evaluating two short peer-review assignments, and participating in the discussion forums. Developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Open Education Lab.

Syllabus

Primary Health Care and Health for All: An Introduction

In this module, we'll go over some basics about the course and introduce you to the concept of primary health care as well as the history of its development. There is a short review quiz at the end of the module.

Exploring What Primary Health Care Really Is

In this module, we'll dig more deeply into primary health care, examine its more recent history, and then hear from Carl Taylor, a giant in the field. When you're ready, please take the review quiz and complete the peer review assignment.

Approaches to Implementing Primary Health Care in Resource-Constrained Settings

Implementation of primary health care is challenging work, particularly when resources are in short supply. In this module, we'll examine some of the challenges and opportunities and look at some real-life examples. A short review quiz follows the lesson.

Achieving Health for All Through Community Health Workers and Innovative Community-based Programming

In most settings, community members are in the best position to provide care to their neighbors. In this module, we'll examine primary health care systems that are built around community health workers. When you've finished the lesson, you'll take your fourth and final review quiz.

Wrapping Up

In this module, we'll summarize what we covered in the preceding modules. Then, you'll have an opportunity to describe your own plan for implementing primary health care in our final peer review assignment.