Strengthening the role of the primary health care in the covid-19 response: evidence from yerevan
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Strengthening the role of the primary health care in the covid-19 response: evidence from yerevan Davit Melik-Nubaryan
Such unprecedented event as novel coronavirus pandemic requires coordinated, well-organized response of entire government and society to reduce the negative outcomes on people’s lives. Especially important is proper organization of the healthcare system’s work and its most important part - the primary health care, which known to be the entry point of the individual to the system that provides wide range of preventive, diagnostic, treatment and follow-up services. The study revealed several systematic omissions in organization of the primary health care involvement in COVID-19 response, which might have had serious negative outcomes on the overall effectiveness of the taken measures. With the increasing pressure on the healthcare system, as a result of uncontrolled community transmission, the decision made to manage uncomplicated and
mild cases of the COVID-19 at primary health care level. However, it was done without proper communication and discussion with the key stakeholders, without serious preparation, capacity assessment and planning, insufficient involvement of the community settings and local governments, regular risk-communication with the population, as well as allocation of the additional financial and technical resources to the primary health care settings. It resulted in several challenges and disruption of the provision of the essential health services by Pprimary health care facilities. Nevertheless, despite the objective difficulties caused by pandemic, primary health careservice providers continue to serve population and they play an important role in protection
of their health and prevention of the COVID-19 through the mass vaccination campaign, which was recently launched in Armenia.
DOI: https://ysmu.am/v2/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/415b1b1d-1.pdf The New Armenian Medical Journal Vol.15 (2021), Nо 2 69-81
