227872 Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) and social justice: A global view

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 3:06 PM - 3:24 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
Ramiro Draper, MD , Administracion de Servicios de Salud del Estado - ASEE, Ministry of Health, Pando, Uruguay
Elizabeth Ponce, MD, MPH , Consultant and Technical Assistance, Vivere Association, Bucharest, Romania
Camilo Valderrama, MD, MPH, PhD , Senior Health Advisor, International Rescue Committee (IRC), Chiang Mai, Thailand
Rosa Gofin, MD, MPH , Hadassah and Hebrew University, School Public Health and Community Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
     
Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC), an approach of delivering clinical care integrated with public health at local level is built on five principles: taking responsibility for the healthcare of a total defined community; identification of health needs; prioritization; interventions based on the identified health needs, and community involvement. COPC is characterized by accessibility of the primary care service; a multidisciplinary team; outreach and intersectorial coordination. COPC proposes to work WITH the community, not only IN the community. In this presentation we will analyze the interaction between the COPC principles and characteristics as a framework to address the determinants of health and the promotion of social justice in healthcare. Based on a series of case studies, COPC global experience will be examined: in Catalonia for populations in suburban neglected neighborhoods, where assessed needs, health services and the neighborhood infrastructures were addressed; in Benin where child trafficking was identified as a problem by multi sectorial partners, and interventions addressed prevention and restitution of families; in Chad, where a program addressed the basic needs of Sudanese refugees living in precarious conditions; in Uruguay where COPC is piloted within the framework of a national reform in health care services granting access to children under the age of 18 and to deprived populations. The common elements of these illustrations from different healthcare systems, socio-economic and cultural contexts, express the applicability of the approach, and its potential for fulfillment of social justice in healthcare.

Learning Areas:
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Identify the principles of Community Oriented Primary Care(COPC) in relation with social justice Discuss the relevance of COPC to achieve social justice in different socio-economic and cultural contexts

Keywords: Community-Oriented Primary Care, Community Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been involved in the practice, teaching and research of Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC)in various universities. I was involved in the teaching of the authors of the four illustrations referred in the Abstract.
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.

Back to: 4286.0: Community Based Primary Health Care