Each Community Needs Access to Primary Health Care
What a primary health care center can offer a community: a well-designed healthcare space made for a local community can offer many other amenities that help attract people to spend time there and not to fear a visit to the doctor.
SPACE
Richard Lasam
5/6/20253 min read
In 1978, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened and presented to the world the Declaration of Alma-Ata which revolves on the need to provide people across the world access to healthcare, encapsulated in the slogan “health for all.” Specifically, it was a call for all countries under the World Health Organization to provide to their citizens clear and easy access to primary health care which is defined as follows by WHO:
“Primary health care enables health systems to support a person’s health needs—from health promotion to disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care, and more.”
While the goal set by the Declaration of Alma-Ata to have such systems in place by 2000 was idealistic at best, another Declaration was made by the WHO in 2018, known as the Declaration of Astana which emphasizes the need to “stay the course” 40 years after the Declaration of Alma-Ata with providing a clear path to “health for all” in the modern world.
As one can attest with their own experience, the aspirations that the WHO declared to the world has not quite materialized, with each country having varying degrees of implementation regarding this idea of providing primary healthcare to their citizens. Countries across the world have different healthcare systems, with some having a largely publicly run healthcare system with minimal private institutions, to others with barely running a public healthcare system and most advanced healthcare being relegated to private (and expensive) healthcare facilities. Some countries also have a more socialized healthcare system, and others almost fully subsumed into a healthcare insurance-based care structure. All of these challenges result in the need for more time before the declarations of Alma-Ata and Astana can be implemented and made into reality.
In the meantime, this does not mean that no attempts have been made to at least be inspired by the aspirations of the WHO in providing primary health care. Certain healthcare spaces are being designed and developed to cater to primary health care. These facilities are those involved with providing healthcare services on a community level—services provided to, say, a village, or a specific part of a city, or even the students, teachers, and inhabitants of a university.
primary health care spaces can also feature reading areas to make it enticing for the community to spend time there and learn.
Having proximity to a healthcare facility (not necessarily a hospital, mind you) as declared by WHO, will have the following benefits:
Health Promotion. Having a space where people can visit and learn more about diseases and healthy lifestyle changes straight from the source can improve the knowledge of the community. A healthcare facility with a medical library, exercise facilities, and other such systems in place can encourage the people in the community to be more healthcare minded.
Disease Prevention. If a community is closely monitored by the healthcare staff of the healthcare facility or people have awareness via healthcare promotion, a community can mitigate the risk of outbreaks and disease spread in their space.
Treatment. Having easier access to healthcare is always appreciated, and having healthcare systems within walking distance from your home should always be prioritized. Emergencies can also have better outcomes if a properly equipped healthcare facility can stabilize community members due to its proximity and coordinate the response to such events when there is a need to move a patient from the community to a higher-level facility.
Rehabilitation and Palliative Care. If a healthcare facility is adjacent to residential spaces, rehabilitation and palliative care can be done either at home (since the healthcare professionals can go to the place of residence of the patient) or with a short travel by the patient to the community healthcare facility.
Other Variables. Sometimes, a community healthcare facility, if it also offers amenities like cafés, restaurants, green spaces, and other such community spaces, can become a central meeting and cultural center of the community. Properly managed and encouraged, having a close relationship with the community healthcare space can improve the quality of life and health of the people living around the said facility.
Generally, having a community healthcare facility greatly increases the quality of life in the community. It makes healthcare more accessible, promotes awareness of well-being, and provides a venue for community activities that may or may not be related to healthcare, but ultimately fosters a community spirit among the people in the area.
If you want to read more healthcare space related articles, I have previously written about design flaws that can be found in hospitals (and make it scary to go there) or how infection control analysis can help in architectural design.