PHC Approach PHC LEVERS PHC Results
Operational lever
Operational lever
Description
Examples for immunization
Operational lever
Models of care
Description
Models of care that promote high-quality people-centred primary care and essential public health functions as the core of integrated health services throughout the life-course.
Examples for immunization
Establish models of care to provide essential immunizations integrated with other health services throughout the life course to reduce missed opportunities for vaccination and improve health outcomes.
Operational lever
PHC workforce
Description
Adequate quantity, competency levels, and distribution of a committed multidisciplinary primary health care workforce that includes facility, outreach, and community-based health workers supported through effective management, supervision, and appropriate compensation.
Examples for immunization
Advocate for policies to attract and retain HCWs at the PHC level, especially in remote settings. Integrate priority PHC topics into immunization training and vice versa. Ensure regular integrated supportive supervision visits for PHC and immunization. Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), training materials, and job-aids for continuous learning and delivery of high-quality integrated services.
Operational lever
Physical infrastructure
Description
Secure and accessible primary care facilities to provide effective services with reliable water, sanitation, and waste disposal/recycling; telecommunications connectivity and power supply; and transport systems that can connect patients to other care providers.
Examples for immunization
Ensure that dry and cold chain storage facilities are compatible with other PHC needs; health facilities are well designed so that health services are easily identified; health facilities have sufficient budget for cost-sharing of utility bills and effective waste disposal systems are in place.
Operational lever
Medicines and other health products to improve health
Description
Availability and affordability of appropriate, safe, effective, quality medicines and other health products, through transparent processes, to improve health.
Examples for immunization
Ensure that there are supply chains and supply chain management systems in place to support equitable distribution of vaccines and other PHC commodities (e.g., vitamin A, drugs, lab supplies).
Operational lever
Engagement with private-sector providers
Description
Sound partnership between public and private-sector providers for the delivery of integrated health services.
Examples for immunization
Strengthen private-sector providers to deliver high-quality PHC services, including immunization.
Operational lever
Purchasing and payment systems
Description
Purchasing and payment systems that foster a reorientation in models of care towards more prevention and promotion, and towards care delivered closer to where people live and work. Such systems need to provide incentives for the delivery of quality primary care services and facilitate integration and coordination across the continuum of care.
Examples for immunization
Ensure that immunizations and their related supplies (home-based records, syringes, etc.) are at no-cost to beneficiaries, including elimination of indirect fees and reducing indirect costs (e.g., transportation costs, opportunity costs) by increasing outreach services and improving delivery of immunization services. Advocate for the inclusion of immunization within PHC benefits packages.
Operational lever
Digital technologies for health
Description
Use of digital technologies for health in ways that facilitate access to care and service delivery, improve effectiveness and efficiency, and promote accountability.
Examples for immunization
Use and scale digital technologies for immunizations (e.g., SMS reminder systems, electronic health registries) in ways that facilitate integration with other PHC service areas.
Operational lever
Systems for improving the quality of care
Description
Systems at the local, sub-national and national levels to continuously assess and improve the quality of integrated health services.
Examples for immunization
Build upon existing systems for immunization system reflection and review at all levels to include PHC services in order to continuously assess and improve the quality and access of integrated immunization services across the life-course.
Operational lever
Primary health care-oriented research
Description
Research and knowledge management, including dissemination of lessons, as well as the use of knowledge to accelerate the scale-up of successful strategies to strengthen primary health care-oriented systems.
Examples for immunization
Promote and utilize research and knowledge management including operational research and guidance on integration of immunization with other health services across the life-course, to strengthen PHC.
Operational lever
Monitoring & evaluation
Description
Monitoring and evaluation through well-functioning health information systems that generate reliable data and support the use of information for improved decision-making and learning by local, national, and global actors.
Examples for immunization
Expand the scope of standing immunization coordination and review mechanisms (e.g. district review meetings) to include PHC services more broadly.
