Integrating public health and primary care

Improved health and social outcomes would be possible with better coordination and collaboration between public health and primary care. The purpose of this study is to identify linkages between these health sectors with the aim of informing a forward-looking policy approach to integrate public health functions in primary care.

We searched national and international journals and the grey literature for relevant papers and reports published from January 1999 to December 2003. The final set of documents provided broad coverage of the topic, with emphasis on national and international representation and a special focus on disease surveillance, health promotion, accident and illness prevention and chronic diseases.

Three main findings emerged from this study. First, there is a need to understand and clearly articulate the roles and functions of public health and primary care in Canada. Second, the main areas of overlap between these sectors are health surveillance, health promotion and prevention of disease and injury. Third, based on an international literature search, we identified 10 models that demonstrate how these sectors can be integrated; five of them were developed in Canada.

National and international evidence and a variety of working models support the integration of public health functions in primary care. Canada has been a leader in developing models of integrated health systems that combine individualized approaches to influence personal health behaviour and community approaches to influence the health of the population. These integration models could be further developed through a focus on the common need of primary care and public health to address the health implications of the ever-present risk of emerging infectious diseases in Canada.