Primary care needs assessment from three villages in north sulawesi, Indonesia: Recommendations for future interventions

Purpose: Access to primary care is limited for the residents of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Moreover, little information is available on the health status and needs of these people. This research describes the demographic, disease, and treatment profiles from mobile health clinics in Sapa, Bunaken and Likupange; three distinct villages in North Sulawesi. The goal of this research is to guide future community-based primary care efforts in this area. Methods: Learn To Live, a small non-profit organization performed history and physical examinations on 634 patients. Demographic, disease and treatment data were collected on all patients. The data was compiled and cleaned using Excel and descriptive analysis was performed using SAS 9.3. Results: Within the 634 patient population, 27.6% were between 0-21 years, 42.7% were between 22-54 years and 29.7% were 55 and older. Approximately 67% were female and 33% were male. The most common diagnosis was musculoskeletal (23.5%), followed by Gastrointestinal (16.2%); ENT/allergy (14.8%) and Cardiac (12.9%). Nearly 33% of the population experienced multiple diagnoses. A total of 846 prescriptions were written; the most common were pain relievers (35.1%), acid reducers (17.5%), antibiotics (14.5%) and allergy medication (14.4%). Conclusion: These results describe a diverse population in terms of demographic characteristics and disease profiles. While the majority of diagnoses are considered chronic in nature, many patients continue to suffer acute ailments as well. Future efforts should identify the source of acute conditions, include preventative interventions for chronic diseases and implement management strategies for patients with multiple conditions.