The viability of the concept of a primary health care team in developing countries

The concept of a team approach in primary health care (PHC) is an integral part of the overall PHC strategy and is advocated at many occasions. Its theoretical advantages are multiple, even though very few sound studies exist on the effectiveness of PHC team. The viability of the concept of PHC teams is affected by two groups of factors. The first group is related to (health) manpower problems in developing countries with its underlying economic causes. The second group of factors is associated with the viability of the PHC concept in general. This pertains to decentralization, intersectoral collaboration and community participation which all affect the viability of the concept of PHC teams.