Primary Health Care Around the World: Recommendations for International Policy and Development

This unique book is the first to bring together primary care experiences from around the world, with emphasis on non-Western regions. Utilising published articles that profile different countries’ primary health care, accompanied by expert commentaries, the book consolidates global primary health care information over the past decade. Profiling the different countries’ primary health care systems and their implementation of primary health care policy, as promoted by WHO and WONCA, the guide provides evidence of how countries and regions can introduce primary health care and family practice to improve their health care infrastructure and delivery. The book is essential reading for policy makers, health educators and academic leaders in primary care and students of global health and provides useful background for those entering or established in clinical family practice around the world.

Chris van Weel graduated from Leiden University in 1973 and practiced as a full time GP in the Ommoord community health centre in Rotterdam until 1985. In 1981 he obtained his PhD at the Erasmus University, Rotterdam, on a practice-based study of prevention. In 1985 he was appointed professor of general practice at the Radboud University Nijmegen and was head of department from 1988 – his retirement in 2012. Since 2013 he is affiliated with the Australian National University, as professor of primary health care research, currently in an honorary appointment. From 2007 – 2010 he was president World Organization of Family Doctors, WONCA, after serving as chair of the WONCA working party on research 1984 – 1998, and European president 1998 - 2001. His research focusses on primary care morbidity, multi-morbidity/co-morbidity and long-term outcome of chronic illness in family practice. The Nijmegen academic practice network of the continuous morbidity registration plays a central role in this research. He founded the EU Erasmus programme ‘Primary Health Care’ that offers primary health care attachments and research electives to medical students from 15 countries. He is involved in CaRe since its founding in 1995, currently as a member of the Board of Governors.

Amanda Howe is a practising family doctor, an academic professor, and a national and international leader in family medicine. Since 2001, she has been Professor of Primary Care at the University of East Anglia, where she was part of the founding team for a new medical programme. During her career, she has held multiple roles in undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty education, including being Course Director for the UEA medical programme during its early years of development and accreditation. She has particular expertise in the teaching and learning of professionalism and patient safety; in the models and effectiveness of involving family medicine in community based medical education; and in resilience and doctors’ wellbeing. She also has clinical research interests in primary care mental health, the contribution of patients to health care, and in early interventions for risk factors. She served from 2009 – 2015 as an Officer of the Royal College of General Practitioners, previously chairing their research committee and the U.K. Society for Academic Primary Care. She is President of the World Organization of Family Doctors (2016-2018). Her lifetime commitment is to making family medicine better – for patients, governments, and for those doctors who choose to practice it!