Primary Health Care

Part A

Primary health care evolves from the economic, cultural, social, and political conditions of a country, and it is described as an essential part of health care that is universally provided to individuals in a community at the country's and community's expense (World Health Organisation [WHO], 1978). The goal of primary health care is to address the main local health problems, but it involves community education about these problems in addition to providing disease treatments (WHO, 1978). Furthermore, primary health care is concerned with nutrition promotion, sanitation standards, family planning, immunisation, disease control and prevention, and it promotes and relies on community and individual participation in primary health care functions (WHO, 1978).

Population health is concerned with policies and interventions that result in positive health outcomes within a community and further distribution of these outcomes among the individuals of the community (Kindig and Stoddart, 2003). Primary health care and population health overlap and complement each other because primary health care builds the fundamental infrastructure of the national health care system (WHO, 1978), so other aspects of national health care are built upon the principles, organisation, and functions defined in the country's primary health care policies and regulations. For example, primary care is provided to individuals, and population health is concerned with community health. However, population health depends on proper individual care because individuals with potentially communicable disease can be a threat to public health, so population health can plan its interventions in the community based on evidence collected from primary health observations...

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...r intervention accordingly.

Item #6. Finally, the issue of an influenza pandemic must be addressed by agencies and organisations other than health care providers, so the occupational health nurse in the role of the educator will notify and counsel boarder controls, travel agencies, and all international organisations about proper rules and regulations in this situation because entering and leaving Australia during a pandemic should not be allowed without proper vaccination. Although quarantines have proven ineffective against flu pandemics in the past, and a 90% air travel restriction can delay the pandemic by no more than two weeks (GlobalSecurity.org, 2011b), making vaccination obligatory for travellers should not be overlooked because it can both slow down the progress of the disease within the Australian community and prevent spreading it to other communities.