206284 Capacity building and the practice of community oriented primary care (COPC) - The case of Catalonia, Spain and Washington DC, USA

Monday, November 9, 2009: 12:30 PM

Jaime Gofin, MD, MPH , Department of Promotion, Social and Behavioral Health, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Goncal Foz, MD, Family Physi , Coordinator of Post Graduate Training in Family and Community Medicine, Institute Catala Salut, Barcelona, Spain
Patrik Johansson, MD, MPH , College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Rosa Gofin, MD, MPH , Hadassah and Hebrew University, School Public Health and Community Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) requires the integration of medicine and public health. Consequently there is need for relevant training of human resources in both disciplines.

A capacity building process in COPC has been in place in Catalonia-Spain since 1987. This was followed later on by the introduction of COPC curricula in the Family and Community Medicine Residency Program of Spain. The initiation and current development of the COPC practices in 34 health centers in Catalonia was possible by the participation of trained professionals and facilitated by the regional health reform. Recently these health centers have created the Network of Community Oriented Health Centers in the Region. This Network is in charge of the capacity building and continuous education.

This experience was considered by the George Washington University in Washington DC for the development of training programs for general practitioners. This training was followed by the creation of the Master of Public Health COPC Track in the School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) of The George Washington University. The School is now developing activities related to COPC practice, consultancy and networking. SPHHS provides consultation to 8 US cities on the reduction of health disparities in Hispanic Elderly through a COPC framework.

In this presentation we will analyze 1) the relevance of COPC to specific health systems, 2) role of academic and/or professional supporting frameworks, 3) field training of an approach that has social justice as an implicit aim, and 4) challenges applying COPC in a fragmented system.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the session, participants will be able to: -identify health care reform and professional attitudes that facilitate the practice of Community Orientation in Primary Care - discuss relevant challenges to be considered in the application and dissemination of the COPC approach

Keywords: Community-Oriented Primary Care, Community Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Director MPH COPC Program, School Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, Washington DC
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.