ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 74
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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Primary healthcare improvement in West Africa: Co-creating
an evidence-informed policy framework to guide the
primary care physicians’ practices
Dr Kéfilath Bello1,2,3, Jean-Paul Dossou1, Bart Criel2, Jan De Lepeleire3, Marcel Djimon Zannou4
1
Centre de Recherche en Reproduction Humaine et en Démographie, 2Institute of Tropical Medicine,
Antwerp, 3KU Leuven, 4University of Abomey Calavi
Introduction
The primary care physicians (PCPs) in West African countries are ill-prepared and contribute poorly
to improving the population’s wellbeing. A co-creation process was initiated to develop a policy
framework to guide the PCPs’ practices in West Africa.
Methods
The co-creation was a long-term process culminating in a two-day workshop in Cotonou, in October
2022. The process also included stakeholders’ engagement before and after the workshop and
evidence gathering through literature reviews and empirical data. A wide range of stakeholders
participated.
Results
There was consensus that West African PCPs should work within multidisciplinary teams, at the
service of a well-defined population, in concordance with primary healthcare principles and in
adequacy with the epidemiological, sociocultural and economic context. The policy framework
includes the following dimensions: objectives assigned to the PCPs, the PCPs’ roles (and related
activities), the professional identity and the governance. The objectives are to ensure the provision
of quality primary care, improve healthcare accessibility, contribute to better resource management
and contribute to improving health indicators. The West African PCPs’ roles comprise: providing
clinical care to patients, being a clinical referent, ensuring quality improvement, being the interface
between populations and other health system actors and levels, leading the primary care team and
coordinating healthcare activities. Regarding professional identity, fundamental values were identified,
including empathy, integrity, community orientation, etc. Stakeholders also agreed that PCPs need
specific training (either undergraduate or postgraduate) to acquire the necessary competencies and be
socialised for the agreed values. The governance elements deemed essential include: clearly defining
the roles, status, training curricula and regulation of the PCPs, ensuring PCPs’ access to sufficient
(even if rational) resources, providing adequate support to PCPs, ensuring good accountability of
PCPs and improving the functioning of professional associations.
Conclusion
This policy framework is a starting point for better guidance of West African PCPs’ practices.
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