The Person in Comprehensive Primary Health Care

Abstract

The emphasis in medicine is slowly moving away from focusing on disease, to focusing on the patient as a person. Then, there is also the importance of community in PHC: a newfound excitement; and rightly so if the person of the patient is not neglected. By focusing on the community to the exclusion of the person, we are repeating the same false notes just in another key. The patient is a unique person, but sot is the health care worker, and our teaching institutions need to create for the student, the possibility to develop as a person. Three recent research findings are referred to: that the person-centred approach in PHC does make a positive difference; and that unthought of connections ( between mind, the hormonal and immune systems), in the patient have an influence on his own health (or disease); and that, thirdly, the placebo responses show how important the person of the doctor is in the whole healing process. Thus, the successful PHC worker needs to be trained as a caring; person who enters a relationship with the patient as a unique person.