Primary health care is an approach to health that acknowledges the determinants of health and the importance of healthy individuals and communities. It focuses on factors such as where people live, the state of the environment, education and income levels, genetics, and relationships with friends and family. It also includes the continuum of care from pre-conception to end-of-life care, emphasizing health promotion, disease and injury prevention, health maintenance, and supporting patients and families in being partners in their health journey. With patients and families being core partners on the team, primary health care professionals include family doctors, family practice nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, social workers, dietitians, physiotherapists, behaviourists, psychologists and many others, who all work collaboratively to improve the health and well-being of their patients and clients. Primary health care is the foundation of the health system, where the majority of people experience most of their health care, in the community, and is the ongoing point of contact a person has with the overall health system.
Strengthening the Primary Healthcare in NS
Let’s break it down. . .
Some health care professionals focus on helping people in the secondary levels of health care. This is after disease/illness/sickness happens. It is usually in the hospital and often involves specialists. They focus on what’s wrong and try to fix it.
Primary health care focuses on wellness, health promotion, disease prevention, and overall wellbeing to help increase life longevity, quality of life, and human flourishing.
The goal and hope of primary health care is to prevent health issues, injuries, aliments, impairments, disabilities, and disease before there is a need to treat them.
Using a Holistic approach the practitioner understands that promoting wellbeing does not end when a person becomes ill, sick, disabled, or even palliative but rather continues to look at the person as a whole. Practitioners can guide transitions and help integrate new and existing life challenges into one’s life in a way that continues to promote quality of life, and optimal wellbeing.
Using a evidence-based practises and looking at factors such as lifestyle, genetics, early childhood development, income, social stigmas, etc. a Primary Care Professional can work with you to discover and identify barriers between you and a healthier, more satisfied, authentic version of yourself. The Practitioner can then help establish goals, create accountability, and educate on ways to over come these barriers. This may involve acceptance and integration, creating a way around or rewiring, or complete break down these barriers, depending on situation.
Some areas Primary Health Care focus on:
- Dementia education and healthy brain functioning
- Nutritional education
- Smoking cessation
- Mental health
- Cessation of “bad habits”
- Breathing and lung health
- Exercise promotion
- Immunizations
- Safe sex
- Limiting alcohol use
- Preventative Health Care, such as:
- Pap tests
- Annual blood work
- Cancer Screening
- Workplace safety
- UV awareness and protection
- Ergonomics and proper body mechanics
- Weight management
They aim to prevent or slow the progression of developing health conditions such as
- Type 2 Diabetes
- High Blood Pressure
- Obesity
- Heart disease and Stroke
- Asthma
- Hearing Loss
- Cancer
- Liver Cirrhosis
People often feel it is “too late”.
Too late to start
Too late to change
Too late in life
Too late to prevent
Uniquely you promotes health, wellbeing, and healing through honesty with oneself, acceptance, and love despite the ware on our body, mind, and spirit have faced within this lifetime.
It’s okay to start where you are. It’s okay to come how you are. Wellbeing, is not simply the absence of disease. It has no set rules or guidelines and instead is unique to each person. Working one-on-one with a Preventative and Primary Health Care Nurse, Holistic Nurse Coach, Wellness and Health Nurse is the beginning of your journey towards your true self, a stainable lifestyle, and acceptance and fulfillment.
Innikki, RN
uniquely you 