Publications European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies - How to enhance the integration of primary care and public health? Approaches, facilitating factors and policy options (2020)

This policy brief explores how primary care and public health can be brought together to improve the health of patients and populations. It describes the types of initiatives that have been undertaken; provides examples of such initiatives in Europe and beyond; and summarizes the factors that can help to enhance or hinder the integration of primary care and public health.

The policy brief argues that there is a large overlap of activities between public health and primary care. In most European countries primary care performs some public health functions, while public health can help to make the provision of primary care more effective.

The policy brief identifies organizational models of primary care that are conducive to integration with public health and describes the key systemic, organizational and interactional factors that can facilitate integration between the two domains.