Making People-Centered Health Services a Reality in Zambia

Originally posted by Paula Quigley, Partner and Technical Lead for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH), Health Partners International on https://www.mhtf.org/2017/01/03/making-people-centered-health-services-a-reality-in-zambia/.

The challenge

With the new era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the accompanying Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030), there is an increasing emphasis on health systems that are patient-centered, holistic and integrated rather than vertically-driven and aim to reduce inequity by serving the most vulnerable and hardest-to-reach populations—all very laudable objectives indeed; but do health systems have the capacity to deliver ...

First steering meeting for the IntegratedCare4People web platform

• On 28-30 November in Granada, Spain, IPCHS stakeholders gathered for the first Steering Meeting of the IntegratedCare4People web platform to identify strategies and commit to a workplan. WHO and its collaborating centre the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP) organized the meeting, which was attended by WHO Regional Offices, technical experts and other stakeholders. Participants discussed strong strategic positioning and clear articulation of the value of the knowledge platform, and how to support broader outreach of its work. A one-year workplan is being finalized with participants demonstrating commitment to its implementation.

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Resilient and responsive systems can provide integrated, people-centred services

Integrated people-centred services are a key feature of resilient and responsive health systems. This theme emerged strongly during debates during the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Vancouver, Canada on 14-18 November. The theme of the symposium was “Resilient and responsive health systems for a changing world” and it was evident that  resilient and responsive health systems are those which provide integrated, people-centred services and have a focus on primary health care as the frontline of routine services and outbreak response. Resilient health systems were recognized as operating from the end-users and patients back, and not from the ...

Integrated People-Centred Health Services: a key feature on Universal Health Coverage Day

Reforming health services to be integrated and people-centred must be a core element of strategic efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This was a key message to come out of the UHC Day 2016 Geneva public event on 12 December, at the end of day one of the UHC2030 meeting.

The event was organised by the International Health Partnership for UHC 2030, the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Save the Children. Over 250 guests attended this event from governments, UN agencies, civil society, academia and the private sector, all contributing ...

Launch of the WHO Global Learning Laboratory for Quality UHC at the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research

On 14 November 2016 the WHO Service Delivery and Safety Department launched the Global Learning Laboratory (GLL) for Quality Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in a world café satellite session at the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Vancouver, Canada.

Colleagues from across the globe discussed questions and engaged fellow participants on four topics: national quality policy & strategy; quality interventions, monitoring & research; and resilience & health security – all in the context of advancing quality of care in countries working toward UHC. WHO Service Delivery and Safety Director, Dr Ed Kelley, opened the session emphasizing the spirit of the lab focused ...

Patient and community engagement in Oman’s national health plan

When a country is developing a five-year national health plan, patients, families and communities ideally need to be at the centre of planning and implementation. But how do you go about making sure this actually happens?

The Patients for Patient Safety (PFPS) group within the Service Delivery and Safety Department at WHO Headquarters, in collaboration with the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, undertook a joint mission to Oman during 23-27 October with health professionals, policy makers and administrators. This was to raise awareness on the importance of patient, family and community empowerment and engagement as a part of the efforts ...

Reforming service delivery is key for achieving the health SDG

The need to reform service delivery to be integrated and people-centred is a key recommendation in the final report from the High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth. The report was delivered at a high profile event to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2016. The report suggests that reformed service delivery models are required with a move away from hospital care towards a focus on prevention and providing high-quality, affordable, integrated, community-based, people-centred primary and ambulatory care. This is critical to ensure that services match ...

Now live! WHO Framework on integrated people-centred health services (who.int) website

The WHO Service Delivery and Safety Department is pleased to announce the launch of the new WHO Framework on integrated people-centred health services (who.int) website.

URL: http://www.who.int/servicedeliverysafety/areas/people-centred-care/en/

Why are we excited about this site? 

At the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly Member States officially adopted the Framework on integrated people-centred health services (IPCHS) and its supporting resolution, formally giving the WHO Secretariat the mandate to work across the organization to support the implementation, national adaptation and operationalization of the Framework. The new website aims to be a steward for the Framework – serving as ...

New report recommends people-centred integrated care as a focus of China’s health reform

A new report says China can offer better health care for its citizens at affordable costs if it restructures its delivery model to focus on providing integrated primary care for its rapidly aging population, and reforming public hospitals so they mainly treat complex and acute cases. Developed by the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the Ministry of Finance, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China, Deepening Health Reform in China, is the most comprehensive report published so far on China’s health reform.

News release: http://www ...

Right care, right time, right place: how Lithuania transformed cardiology care

(Original story published by WHO: http://www.who.int/features/2016/lithuania-transforms-care/en/)

Long wait times to see specialists. Poor coordination between family doctors and hospitals. Duplicated tests. And some of the highest rates of heart disease-related death in Europe.

They were some of the challenges facing Lithuania 20 years ago, particularly in the country’s eastern region, where mortality from heart disease and stroke was highest, especially among middle-aged men and women outside major cities.

Health officials concluded that many of the problems patients experienced in getting the care they needed stemmed from the way services were organized and ...