PHC training in South Africa
- PMID: 12289085
PHC training in South Africa
Abstract
PIP: South Africa's Institute of Urban Primary Health Care has developed a variety of training programs for primary health care personnel at the Alexandra Health Center. The programs are based on the belief that primary health care must provide not only medical resources but also support for community efforts to improve the quality of life. Thus, the training serves as a catalyst for enabling people to take control of their health and transform their communities. Although separate training modules have been designed for community health workers, specialized community workers (e.g., geriatric care, mental health, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), nurses, and program managers, there is a core curriculum that covers critical thinking and problem solving abilities, assessment of local needs, socioeconomic and political influences on health and community development, state-of-the-art methods of health promotion and education, and basic knowledge of health and ill-health. The training program for managers is considered especially important given the need to transform South Africa's physician-centered, tertiary care-biased health delivery system into one concerned with individual and community empowerment.
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