Barriers to Community-Based Health Care
What are the benefits of community-based care in health care? These programs are supported by evidence and have been shown to improve outcomes and reduce costs. Community-based healthcare is possible only with low- or zero-cost infrastructure. Addressing unmet needs is another benefit of community-based health care. But what are the barriers to a community-based health care system? Let’s look at a few of them. Listed below are some of the common barriers and how community-based health care can address them.
Community-based health care system
A community-based health care system can be a way to improve the health services provided to the population. This approach relies on deploying communities to provide direction for health initiatives. It aims at improving health care at the community level and reducing healthcare costs. However, it is not easy to set up and maintain a Community-based healthcare system. Community-based health care has many benefits and challenges.
Its primary goal is to promote health and wellbeing by addressing community health factors and preventing chronic illnesses. Individual wellness is also linked to community health. Various community-based organizations provide a variety of programs and services to the community. As such, they are described using diverse concepts and terminology. For instance, they include the provision of nursing and physiotherapy services to people with physical or mental disabilities.
Evidence-based programs improve health outcomes
Many clinicians have adopted evidence-based decision making. The emphasis is on the evaluation of patient health outcomes and the evaluation of decisions. Evidence-based health care programs are many and varied, and foundations and health care systems decide which to fund and support. But one major concern about relying only on evidence-based practices is that it can eliminate more innovative and effective treatments. This report offers suggestions for moving toward evidence-based decision-making.
Community-based prevention involves multiple levels, and can be applied to large geographic areas as well as diverse settings. Community-based programs are different from individual-level interventions. They promote health and prevent disease. These programs target behavior change and provide social support. They are typically carried out in schools, workplaces, or Y-groups. These interventions can also include skills-building and educational programs.
Infrastructure that is low- or even free of cost
A national program called Community Based Health Planning and Services in Ghana (CHPS) has enabled 5,000 health workers from non-profit organizations to provide primary care at home for those living in poverty. CHPS workers not only provide medical care but also do community outreach. For example, in one rural area, they deliver primary care directly to individuals and families on the doorstep. CHPS services are also less expensive than hospital-based health care.
Federal health care reform has helped to significantly reduce the need for charity care. However, it has also created opportunities for state governments as well as health care organizations to step in. In some cases, state legislatures can create regulations to address deficiencies in federal standards or return them as federal policy is developed. In some cases, hospitals choose to participate in initiatives aligning state, federal, and organizational efforts. This paper examines the costs of these policies and provides a cost analysis that can be used to guide future policy initiatives.
Addressing unmet needs
Social determinants are conditions that affect the health of individuals and how they access resources. Calls to intervene in unmet social needs in health care systems have prompted several large-scale initiatives in health systems across the country. But without a conceptual framework, these efforts are largely fruitless. The OASIS framework is a system for mapping the pathways from identification through referral to addressing unmet needs.
The Triple Aim initiative from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) provides guidance to help community groups identify unmet health needs. In Pueblo, Colo., for example, this program helped the community identify unmet primary care, chronic disease management, and regional health promotion programs. By addressing unmet needs, community groups can work together to address these challenges. Ultimately, the community benefits from a well-functioning health care system.