WONCA News – August 2019
The latest WONCA News (July 2019) has just been published and can be accessed at
https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/NewsletterArticle/July2019.aspx
New global research agenda to advance PHC and achieve UHC
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, primary care researchers have conducted studies to identify the gaps in global knowledge about what works in primary health care and prioritised a new research agenda that focuses on four key areas. A WONCA research team, led by Working Party on Research Chair, Felicity Goodyear-Smith, and including WONCA past presidents Amanda Howe, Chris van Weel and Michael Kidd, won two of the grants – on organisation and on financing of primary care. The findings of the project are published in a special issue of BMJ Global Health, “Strengthening Primary Health Care Through Research: Prioritized knowledge needs to achieve the promise of the Astana Declaration,” released online August 15. Further details are available via the WONCA website at
https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/newglobalresearchagendatoadvanceprimaryhealthcareandachiev.aspx
Improving care of patients with depression and anxiety
The California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP) and Healthcare Performance Consulting (HPC) have been working with the WONCA for the past five years on a variety of educational needs assessments and learning activities. Results of the needs assessment completed at WONCA’s 2017 Pacific region conference in Thailand were published in the Journal of Family Physicians and Primary Care (2019, volume 8, issue 3). This assessment led to the development of our latest project, “Improving Our Care of Patients with Depression and Anxiety,” which highlights the issues family doctors in the Asia Pacific Region and Japan face with their patients. This project includes both workshops and webinars with community faculty and the requirement for these faculty members to then teach what they have learned to at least two groups in their home countries. The latest face to face workshop was held during the WONCA Asia Pacific conference in Kyoto, Japan and is reported on fully in WONCA news.
Featured Doctor: Dr Sankha Radenikumara (Sri Lanka)One of this month’s featured doctors is Dr Sankha Randenikumara of Sri Lanka. Sankha is the recently appointed Chair of The Spice Route, WONCA’s Young Doctors’ Movement of the WONCA South Asia Region, and he also a council member of Rural WONCA. Find out more about him at
https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/member/WoncaPeople/RandenikumaraDrSankha.aspx
“Education for Primary Care Journal announces Free Access for a month” to an interesting article on “Using recruitment and selection to build a primary care workforce for the future” from lead researchers in medical education; Celia Brown, Chris McManus, Ian Davison, Paramjit Gill & Richard Lilford.