Evaluation of health care services provided for older adults in primary health care centers and its internal environment

Abstract

Objectives:To evaluate the health care services provided for older adults by primary health care centers (PHCCs) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the ease of use of these centers by older adults.Methods:Between October 2013 and January 2014, we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study of 15 randomly selected PHCCs in Riyadh City, KSA. The evaluation focused on basic indicators of clinical services offered and factors indicative of the ease of use of the centers by older adults. Evaluations were based upon the age-friendly PHCCs toolkit of the World Health Organization.Results:Coverage of basic health assessments (such as blood pressure, diabetes, and blood cholesterol) was generally good. However, fewer than half of the PHCCs offered annual comprehensive screening for the common age-related conditions. There was no screening for cancer. Counseling on improving lifestyle was provided by most centers. However, there was no standard protocol for counseling. Coverage of common vaccinations was poor. The layout of most PHCCs and their signage were good, except for lack of Braille signage. There may be issues of access of older adults to PHCCs through lack of public transport, limited parking opportunities, the presence of steps, ramps, and internal stairs, and the lack of handrails.Conclusions:Clinical services and the internal environment of PHCCs can be improved. The data will be useful for health-policy makers to improve PHCCs to be more age-friendly.

Age-friendly primary care health centers why are they necessary?

“…[4][5][6] Several barriers that hinder the adequate provision of information and care in the elderly have been identified, focusing on accessibility, received information, shared decision-making or opening hours in primary care centers, among others. 7 There are several studies carried out around the creation of age-friendly urban models. It has been highlighted, for example, the importance of developing areas of activity for the elderly, where physical therapies and social resources are integrated.…”

Dubai Primary Health Care Centers Conformation to WHO Age-Friendly Primary Healthcare Recommendations

“…The Department of Ageing and Life Course (ALC) of WHO, has developed a toolkit to assist countries to deal with the peculiarities of elderly people in the setting of PHC [1]. This toolkit is also used to assess conformation of current PHC design to the needs of elderly in other countries [5] [6].…”

“…One study, published in 2013, with a similar scope, was conducted in Riyadh area, in Saudi Arabia [5], and it can be used as a benchmark for comparison, due to the social, cultural and economic comparable environment.…”

Evaluation of health care services provided for older adults in primary health care centers and its internal environments

“…I read with great interest the article by Alhamdan et al 1 on the evaluation of primary health care centers (PHCC) on health care services and internal environments. This article is dealing on an important issue of primary health care services.…”

“…Thank you for your valuable and respected correspondence, which received a great attention. Actually, the study 1 that was published in Saudi Medical Journal is a part of a large research project, supported by the National Plan for Science and Technology, King Abdulaziz City for Sciences & Technology (Project No# 10-MED-121902), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.…”