Health is described as “a condition of complete physical, emotional, and social wellbeing, rather than merely the absence of illness or infirmity.” Healthy living is a requirement for participating in various events, including schooling and work. Article 25 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) reaffirms individuals with disabilities’ ability to have the best possible level of health treatment without prejudice.
Person characteristics, living and working environments, social, cultural, and environmental conditions, and access to health care facilities all contribute to one’s health status. According to reports, many individuals with disabilities have worse social conditions than people without disabilities: they have a higher incidence of poverty, a lower rate of jobs, and a lower level of schooling.
5 Principles of Primary Health Care
Being sick is unpleasant. It is preferable to remain safe. The fundamental values of wellness are a balanced lifestyle, abstinence from narcotics (alcohol, nicotine, illicit substances, and overeating), physical activity, ample rest, and optimistic thought. We can quickly incorporate them into our daily lives if we so like. These five fundamental wellness values ensure that we live a long, safe, and prosperous existence. By adhering to these rules, we will prevent the majority of diseases. When we are ill, we recover much more quickly than when we are well.
- Be optimistic: Bad feelings can be avoided. Maintain a predominantly optimistic state of mind by deliberate control. Happy thoughts result in positive impulses and have a beneficial impact on the body. Self-motivation requires the use of constructive words and thoughts. Read motivational books and set a positive goal for yourself (hobby).
- Remain sufficiently relaxed: Stress can still be alleviated by more rest time, yoga, or meditation. Inner peace needs to maintain a healthy balance between personal interaction (work) and rest (relaxation).
- Exercise and sports: To maintain a solid and stable body, exercise, jog, cycle, or swim once or twice a day (for around a half-hour to an hour). It is also appropriate to train for half an hour a day on an exercise bike (treadmill, bicycle) or to practice dynamic yoga (creative hatha yoga). Or to take an hour-long stroll over the weekend. The body must be adequately warmed throughout (practice until slightly sweating). It eliminates disease-causing germs.
- Abstain from cannabis, tobacco, and beer: This results in various illnesses that usually dramatically shortens life. Too many sweets (sugar, fat), too much salt, and too much meat are detrimental. Consume a moderate amount of calories. You can live longer if you consume less food (but not too little). Pay attention to the body. He is aware of what is beneficial to you. Maintain a prudent lifestyle and good fitness.
- Eat a balanced diet: A balanced diet can include pulses, potatoes, milk, cereals, vegetables, among other foods. It is recommended to consume little or no meat and plenty of raw foods (vegetables and raw fruits). Raw food provides the body with abundant minerals and vitamins that aid in disease prevention.
Goals of Primary HealthCare
Primary healthcare’s main aim is to improve quality outcomes for everyone. This is why the WHO or World Health Organization has established five critical elements for achieving this objective:
- Leadership reforms: pursuing patterns of policy discourse that are collective
- Public Policy reforms: integrating fitness across all spheres of operation
- Service Delivery Reforms: Orienting health care to the wishes and desires of individuals
- Universal Coverage Platforms: Reducing socio-economic exclusion and wellbeing gaps
- Growing stakeholder engagement: Engaging stakeholders in the reform too.
Primary Health Care Components
PHC infrastructure and programs differ by country and community. Nonetheless, the fundamental principle of PHC remains the same. They are as follows:
- A sufficient supply of potable water and basic sanitation: Water sources and sanitation are inextricably linked. If there is no water source, the sanitary situation will deteriorate immediately. Owing to a shortage of clean drinking water and inadequate hygiene, we become victims of gastrointestinal diseases such as dysentery, roundworm, typhoid, cholera, diarrhea, etc. We cannot preserve our nutritional health if we do not defend ourselves from those diseases. As a result, sufficient availability of clean drinking water is critical. Similarly, we should devote all of our time and resources to ensuring proper sanitation.
- Training of health care: Good health is critical for living a worthwhile human existence on a fundamental and inherent level. In and of itself, good health is the aim of all human efforts. Its health precludes access to schooling, employment, income generation, cultural and political engagement, and other facets of human existence that are valued. Indeed, health education shares information that aids in promoting safe lifestyles and resolving fundamental health issues.
- Nutrition: A good diet is essential for maintaining a healthier lifestyle. A healthy diet needs a sufficient supply of food and careful dietary maintenance. If we do not consume a balanced diet, we suffer from malnutrition. Along with starvation, a variety of health conditions manifest. As a result, adequate food supply and diet control are critical components of PHC.
- Vaccination: Immunisation is a commonly known method of preventing various infectious diseases. People in developed nations cannot pay healthcare costs due to a lack of adequate health knowledge, a low economic status, and advanced curative health services. Immunisation is the most significant prevention action against various infectious diseases in this context, including tuberculosis, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, and poll-oi. As a result, primary health care focuses on immunisation programs that promote health security and growth.
- Provision of required medications: PHC has put a premium on handling the majority of required medications. Our villages and communities’ sub-health and health posts administer and distribute free medications for diarrhoea, flu, and discomfort. Additionally, mild cuts and wounds are treated with medication.
- Medicine Availability and Distribution: One of the main goals of primary health care is to administer and make accessible the most often used medications to aid in preventing primary illnesses.
- Infectious Diseases Treatment: In the lack of timely and appropriate care for infectious diseases, many rural residents have died early. Treatment of various diseases may be treated at the community level with minimal instruction. Thus, to combat mortality from infectious diseases, primary health care organizes educational programs for urban residents to prevent infectious diseases at the community level.
Conclusion
‘Prevention is better than cure. We hear this all the time. Using the five principles of primary health care, you can save yourself and your families with a million problems that you may face in your future. The few that remain can be eradicated using the components of primary health care. Help with the goals of primary health care and make this world a better place to live.