Primary Health Care and Health Systems Development Course

Continuing Education Programme

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Primary Health Care and Health Systems Development Course
Introduction Primary Health Care (PHC) has been globally accepted as an appropriate strategy for universal coverage of essential healthcare on equitable basis, accessible at an affordable cost with full participation of the people. Implementation of simple PHC technologies has resulted in substantial reduction of mortality and morbidity and enhancing the life expectancy. Government of Pakistan has a commitment to adopt PHC philosophy, concepts and strategies as an essential part of healthcare system of the country. To fulfill this commitment, there is a need to train and reorient health care personnel about PHC as a strategy and its techniques, for its effective and meaningful implementation.
Over the last 20 years, public health system has expanded its infrastructure in all the four provinces and the federally administered areas in the country. There is a need to make this infrastructure more effective and fully utilised. Front-line health care providers are very important cadre in any health care system, functioning at the grass root level. They are in direct contact with the community and know their aspirations as well as frustrations. They have proved their merit and importance in the health care system. However, there is a need to orient them in PHC, so that they may use their full potential for improvement of health of the people in a more effective way. It is hoped that they would serve as an agent for change when equipped with necessary knowledge and skills.
Keeping in view the need for frontline health care providers, the Department of Community Health Sciences at Aga Khan University has design ed a four-weeks training programme in PHC and Health Systems Development. The purpose of this training programme is to build upon and compliment their existing knowledge and skills and to equip them with necessary tools for improved performance in PHC. Under the aegis of Continuing Education Programme of the Department, this course is being offered since 2003 and to date six courses have trained 160 participants mainly from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Goal The overall goal of this training programme is to train front-line and other related healthcare providers in PHC philosophy, principles, concepts and strategies. Aim is to focus on key techniques for health care systems development, to supplement their knowledge and hands on experience; enabling them to provide leadership in effective Primary Health Care as an essential component of health care system.
Objectives At the end of the programme, participants would be able to:
Comprehend PHC as a philosophy and concept;
Describe PHC principles, components, strategies and their significance in health care;
Learn how to apply these in the development of health care system, especially in field settings;
Relate PHC associated skills in field-based pursuits as the functions of frontline health care providers;
Translate application of strategies to communities, women, health and development.
Course OutlineIntensive Training
Health and development
Health care systems development
Health, equity and gender
Primary health care, health promotion and community health
Management audit
Health policy reforms
Communication skills
Primary health care, and communicable and non-communicable diseases
Quality of health care
Community participation and its significance for health care
Community health programme management
Reproductive health and child survival strategies
Environmental health
PHC in the changing world scenario
Field Based TrainingFor learning PHC techniques, participants will work in small groups at urban field sites in squatter settlements of Karachi, being managed by the Department. Each group will work with PHC team members to be able to:
Get aquatinted with PHC concepts and their application;
Observe how NGOs are working in PHC;
Identify the problems and learn interventions;
Analyse and resolve the problems.
Participants will write a report on their experiences.
Teaching MethodsQualified and experienced faculty and staff of the CHS and other departments at AKU will conduct the training course. The basic educational strategy is 'Learning by Doing', with the participatory approach. The interactive classroom sessions, group work and panel discussions will be complemented with relevant field based exposure for experiential learning.
The entire course has been divided into 12 modules, each consisting of one to five-days duration. Each day will begin with a review of the previous day's work by one or two participants. Similarly the day will end with an overview of the next day's programme.
Each module or a set of modules will be followed by a panel discussion, to provide an opportunity to the participants to further clarify any of the concepts or contents with the help of faculty panelists.
A course book will be given at the beginning of the programme. Different teaching materials and handouts will be made available during the programme for complementary reading, preparation of assignments and for ready reference.
Evaluation A t the beginning of the training course, the participants will give a pre-test to find out areas requiring further strengthening. Similarly at the end, a post-test will facilitate to know the extent of learning achieved during the training course. Participants will also conduct daily and overall evaluations of the training course.
Who Should Attend The training course would be useful for senior and mid-level health and development planners, managers and researchers, working with the Government, NGOs, and national and international development agencies. This would benefit not only the course participants, but also their parent organisations, programmes and the populations they serve.
EligibiltyParticipant should hold a graduate degree in health or social sciences from a recognised institution with 2-5 years' work experience in health care organisations. English is the exclusive language of instruction, therefore participants must be comfortable to read, write and speak in English language.
Duration of the CourseThe duration of the course is 4 weeks (21 working days). The scheduled dates are from June 1 to 26, 2009, both days inclusive.
Tuition FeeThe course tuition fee is Rs 28,000 (US$ 405 applicable for international participants) which covers classroom instructions, field visits, course material, refreshments and simple lunch during working hours.