Activities Provided By Health Personnel in Primary Care Unit of Phichit Hospital
Abstract
Primary care unit is the primary health service for the individual, family and community. It provides a holistic care aimed at improving health of the client. The purposes of this study were: to explore activities provided by health personnel in 3 Primary Care Units (PCU) of Phichit hospital; and to study problems relating to the services provided. The population were 50 health personnel including physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and health center personnel. Data were collected using a set of questionnaire developed by the investigator, based on the standard of primary care unit consisted of; a demographic data form and the Activity Provided by Health Personal Scales (APHPS). The content validity was assessed by the panel of experts. The objectivity of the questionnaire was also obtained. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean and standard deviation.
The results of this study indicated that:
1. The physician performed activities regarding treatment and care; and drug service activities at a moderate level. They performed 4 activities including health promotion; rehabilitation; prevention and disease control, and activities regarding supporting self-reliance of the community at low levels.
2. The nurses performed activities regarding treatment and care at moderate level. They performed 5 activities including drug service; health promotion; rehabilitation; prevention and disease control and activities regarding supporting self-reliance of the community at low levels.
3. The health center personnel performed 6 activities including drug service; treatment and care ; health promotion; rehabilitation; prevention and disease control, and activities regarding supporting self-reliance of the community at moderate levels.
4. The dentists performed activities regarding treatment and care at a high level. They performed health promotion activities and prevention and disease control activities at low levels.
5. The pharmacists performed drug service activities at a high level. They performed prevention and disease control activities at a moderate level. However the phamacists performed health promotion activities and activities regarding supporting self-reliance of the community at low levels.As for the problems relating to the PCU services, the majority of them were administrative problems. Problems concerning health personnel, equipments and supplies and budget were also cited.
It was recommended that the administrator should provide adequate equipments, supplies, and medicine. The policies, roles and responsibilities of health personnel should be clearly defined. Administrative system should be organized in order to facilitate PCU. Team work should be promoted and personnel development is needed to enable them to work in the community.
Key words: Primary care unit, Activity provided in primary care unit