National Primary Health Care Strategic Framework

Running head: PRIMARY HEALTH IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
PRIMARY HEALTH IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
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PRIMARY HEALTH IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT1
Introduction
The National Primary Health Care (PHC) Strategic Framework was developed by the
Department of Health in collaboration with the local as well as state governments for the purpose
of ensuring improved health outcomes via integration of healthcare services across all federal
and local and state territories. One of the four strategic outcomes focused upon by the
Framework is to improve healthcare access to all Australians and pave the way for reduction of
inequities in healthcare (Department of Health, 2013). The following paper will discuss this
strategy and its relation to current issues of healthcare equity in Australia, drawing comparison
from nursing standards as well as global PHC recommendations.
Discussion
National PHC Strategic Framework
The PHC Framework postulates the need to commit to comprehensive improvement of
access and inequity across a range of household as well as community based healthcare services
such as: health screening and prevention, promotion of health, preventive interventions as well as
services for the management of chronic disorders such as mental illnesses, cancer, obesity,
dietary complications and diabetes. Additionally, the PHC Framework specifically postulates the
need to address the culturally and ethnically diverse healthcare needs of socially disadvantaged,
minority populations such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island (ATSI) communities. The PHC
Framework considers addressing all ATSI healthcare community needs across every aspect of
the healthcare continuum such as acute care, disability care, sub-acute care, aged care, specialist
as well as early childhood services (Department of Health, 2013).

PRIMARY HEALTH IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT2
Despite the prevalence of culturally competent strategies within the PHC, ATSI
communities in the nation continue to encounter inequities in terms of healthcare access. As per
a recent news report by The Lancet, the 11th annual report overviewing ATSI healthcare
communities as per ‘Closing the Gap’ initiatives, merely two targets addressing inequities in
healthcare, employment and education were achieved for the year 2018 (The Lancet, 2019).
Further, as per the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC, 2019), ATSI communities as
compared to non-ATSI communities continue to encounter inadequacies in primary and sexual
healthcare access resulting in high rates of sexually transmitted infections, cardiovascular and
renal diseases, diabetes, substance abuse and child diseases like eye and ear infections.
Social Health Determinants
Equity in healthcare implies that every individual will be able to reap positive health
outcomes if he or she has equal access to healthcare services, irrespective of caste, gender, race,
ethnicity and religion. Indeed, the importance of the social health determinant of equity is largely
evident in the form of poor health outcomes denoted across socially disadvantaged minority
groups like indigenous communities, linguistically diverse individuals and LGBTQ groups
(Artiga & Hinton, 2019). The PHC framework attempts to address the social health determinant
of health equity for disadvantaged groups, specifically ATSI communities, by establishing
longitudinal models of healthcare where health professionals like remote nurse practitioners and
general practitioners are encouraged to maintain long term therapeutic relationships with ATSI
patients as well as utilize multidisciplinary via participation by nurse assistants and anesthetists.
This will ensure lifelong management of the comprehensive healthcare needs of ATSI
communities (Department of Health, 2013).