Integral

The extent to which primary health care (PHC) can be integrated has been an area of controversy internationally for decades. Within the health sector, the debate includes what PHC services can or should be offered together, or what interventions are best run separately as vertical programmes, and how PHC can be linked via referral mechanisms to other levels of care. The debate also includes a vision of health in its social context, and asks how PHC services can be linked to other sectors, involving preventative and promotive interventions that are broader than traditional biomedical interventions.