Primary Health Care & Health Disparities (OHSU)

Overview | Learning Competencies | Contact Information | Curriculum | Student Handbook | Field Experience Information| Admissions Information | Course Competencies | Other Tracks

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This program is based upon the concepts and principles of Primary Health Care. The World Health Organization (1978) defines primary health care as "essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology, made universally available to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination."

Primary health care is both a philosophy and an approach to providing health services. By emphasizing improvements in primary health care access and quality for underserved populations, this degree program prepares graduates to tackle health disparities in a unique way.

Students completing this track will be prepared to assume clinical leadership roles in a variety of settings, including but not limited to community health centers and health maintenance organizations, community agencies and health departments, and official and voluntary health agencies and organizations. Graduates will be able to ensure the quality of implemented clinical and community care activities, act as resources for the development of innovative and expanded responses in clinical and community care, coordinate care with regional and county offices, interface with all services involved with the care of patients, and provide counseling and education for families and patients receiving care.

 

Track Learning Competencies

The Primary Health Care & Health Disparities track provides training in the population perspective of health care and disease prevention. Prospective students include professionals whose qualifications are in health care, who see clients/patients directly, or who work or desire to work within a primary medical or nursing care organization that offers patients open access.

Students graduating from this track will be able to:

1. Develop and manage interventions to promote and protect the health of populations at risk.
2. Assess the health status of vulnerable populations.
3. Lead and participate in interdisciplinary efforts to address health disparities.
4. Lead individual actions or collaborate with (community) partners to create, maintain, and modify health promotion and risk reduction programs.
5. Conduct, participate in, and apply research with vulnerable populations.
6. Enact cultural competence.
7. Communicate policy options.
8. Act ethically and make apparent the effect of ethical issues on the practice of public health.
9. Design and implement strategies to promote primary health care as a philosophy of care and an approach to providing community based services.

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Contact Information

Admissions Contact

OHSU School of Nursing
503-494-7725
proginfo@ohsu.edu

Curricular Information

Deborah C Messecar, PHD, MPH, RN, CNS
Associate Professor
Oregon Health & Science University
School of Nursing
503-494-3573
messecar@ohsu.edu

Related web resources

• OHSU MPH Online Program
• OHSU additional Information
• Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Oregon Health Division

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