Importance of community engagement in primary health care: the case of Afghan refugees
I-Hao Cheng A B , Sayed Wahidi A , Shiva Vasi A and Sophia Samuel A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Southern Academic Primary Care Research Unit (Monash University School of Primary Health Care, South Eastern Melbourne Medicare Local, Monash Health), 314B Thomas Street, Dandenong, Vic. 3175, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: i-hao.cheng@monash.edu
Australian Journal of Primary Health 21(3) 262-267 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY13137
Submitted: 4 December 2012 Accepted: 6 July 2014 Published: 8 August 2014
Abstract
Refugees can experience problems accessing and utilising Australian primary health care services, resulting in suboptimal health outcomes. Little is known about the impact of their pre-migration health care experiences. This paper demonstrates how the Afghan pre-migration experiences of primary health care can affect engagement with Australian primary care services. It considers the implications for Australian primary health care policy, planning and delivery. This paper is based on the international experiences, insights and expert opinions of the authors, and is underpinned by literature on Afghan health-seeking behaviour. Importantly, Afghanistan and Australia have different primary health care strategies. In Afghanistan, health care is predominantly provided through a community-based outreach approach, namely through community health workers residing in the local community. In contrast, the Australian health care system requires client attendance at formal health service facilities. This difference contributes to service access and utilisation problems. Community engagement is essential to bridge the gap between the Afghan community and Australian primary health care services. This can be achieved through the health sector working to strengthen partnerships between Afghan individuals, communities and health services. Enhanced community engagement has the potential to improve the delivery of primary health care to the Afghan community in Australia.
Additional keywords: Afghanistan, community health services, community health workers, community participation, general practice, transients and migrants.
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