PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS IN DISTRICT PESHAWAR: A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Objective: To assess the health care delivery system of Primary Health Care facilities in district Peshawar of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan

Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the conveniently selected four primary healthcare facilities in district Peshawar. The participants’ responses were recorded via structured questionnaires. The participants were selected through non-probability convenient sampling techniques. Written informed consent was obtained from each study participant.

Results: All participants indicated that the Basic Health Units (BHUs) were generally functioning efficiently. However, they expressed dissatisfaction with several aspects of the services provided. Specifically, there were concerns regarding the field visits conducted by Lady Health Visitors (LHVs), with participants feeling that these visits were insufficient or lacked proper guidance, particularly about antenatal and postnatal care, as well as family planning services. Additionally, the availability of essential resources such as ambulances and basic laboratory facilities was also a point of concern, as these were either inadequate or not easily accessible, hindering the overall effectiveness of the healthcare services at the BHUs.

Conclusion: This study results revealed that the performance was overall satisfactory at the PHC level except for a few areas including family planning services, ambulatory services, and availability of laboratory facilities which need improvement.

Keywords: Primary Health Care, Essential Services, Immunization, Health Systems, Maternal and Child Healthcare.