Skills building seminar: How to enhance collaboration between primary care and public health?
Authors:   Organised by: Observatory Chair persons: Matthias Wismar - European Observatory
Published: November 2019

Many countries in Europe and beyond have recognized that improved collaboration between public health and primary care can yield substantial benefits to populations and patients (e.g. through improved chronic disease management, communicable disease control, and maternal and child health), but it is in practice unclear how this improved collaboration can be achieved. Furthermore, collaboration is often hampered by the way that both sectors are organized and financed, with substantial differences across and sometimes within countries.

In most European countries primary care already performs some public health functions, while public health can help to make the provision of primary care more effective. Screening and immunization, for example, as well as interventions to support healthy lifestyles, are public health functions that are nowadays commonly provided in primary care, although with wide variations between countries in the number of preventive care services provided in primary care. The question is how to expand and further develop existing collaborations.

This workshop investigates the types of initiatives that have been undertaken, the factors that can enhance or hinder the collaboration between primary care and public health, and what can be undertaken to increase the chances of successful collaboration. It identifies organizational models of primary care that are conducive to collaboration with public health (e.g. through integrating primary care and public health in the provision of care for individuals), as well as systemic, organizational and interpersonal factors that can hinder or facilitate collaboration.

The workshop draws on the findings of a forthcoming Observatory policy brief on enhanced primary care and public health collaboration, covering such areas as community engagement and participation, health promotion, health education, prevention activities, chronic disease management, screening, immunization and communicable disease control, information systems activities, development of best practice guidelines, conducting needs assessments, quality assurance and evaluation, and professional education.

The workshop will begin with a presentation of the main findings of the policy brief, followed by a panel discussion involving European experts and policy-makers. In addition to sharing the experience of their countries, panelists will reflect on how generalizable or transferable examples of successful collaboration are and what it takes to overcome existing barriers. The workshop is designed to provide ample opportunity for the audience to comment on and discuss presentations and the contributions of panelists and to consider what lessons can be transferred across countries. It will be of interest to public health researchers, practitioners and policy-makers from across Europe.

Key messages

The workshop provides a forum for discussing how to enhance collaboration between public health and primary care. It explores innovative approaches, organizational models, and policy options.