Photo story - Primary health care advanced in Armenia as WHO assists with improving guidelines
WHO, with funding from the European Union, is assisting Armenia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) in adapting and improving guidelines on the management and treatment of a variety of infections, including community-acquired pneumonia, pharyngitis, urinary tract infections, otitis media, as well as COVID-19. WHO is helping introduce these guidelines to primary health care providers throughout the country.
Primary health care (PHC) addresses most of a person’s health care needs throughout their lifetime, ensuring they receive comprehensive care ranging from prevention to treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.
The updated guidelines are accompanied by algorithms which will assist PHC professionals by standardizing decision-making in the delivery of care, and reducing uncertainty in how treatment regimes are selected and applied. With funding from the European Union, the updated guidelines and algorithms will be printed and distributed among PHC facilities.
“Accurate and effective patient management is enabled by the availability and use of patient care management algorithms,” says Gayane Ghukasyan, WHO Country Programme Coordinator for Communicable Diseases in Armenia. She points out that “reliable and easily accessible clinical case management guidelines and care models make it easier for primary care physicians to manage and treat patients effectively.”
Strengthening essential services by sharing practical advice
“The need to develop and adapt national guidelines on common infectious diseases became more vital with the spread of COVID-19, alongside the widespread prescription of antibiotics manufactured on a large scale,” explains Narina Sargsyants, co-author of the national guidelines on the management and treatment of common infectious syndromes: acute respiratory infections, pharyngitis and COVID-19.
“Our working group developed concise guidelines and algorithmic cards which present common symptoms and treatment mechanisms. These help primary health care specialists orient themselves quickly in their daily work with patients, whilst following a unified approach to treatment, and considering individual factors,” she emphasizes.
The guidelines have already been approved and adopted by the MoH and will be used by PHC specialists starting this year. They were developed and adapted by a national working group, with the involvement of experts from WHO and its Collaborating Centre at Stanford University, USA, in cooperation with the Armenian National Institute of Health.
A guiding tool for PHC professionals
Sergey Sargsyan, adviser to the MoH on paediatrics and co-author of the national guidelines, explains his role. “Back in 1994, I was involved in a group that worked on the development of guidelines on how to treat acute respiratory infections in children. They provided a unified approach and contributed to a significant decrease in mortality rates. They have since been superseded by other recommendations so there was a need to revise and consolidate the latest information and provide brief and concise guidelines.”
“Within our working group, which consists of field experts and practical paediatricians, we developed guidelines based on WHO guidance, incorporating European and American recommendations. We hope that with tailored support, these new guidelines will become the main guiding tool for paediatricians in Armenia,” he adds.
Local trainers, who were involved in the working group, will introduce the improved national guidelines via online training sessions to more than 1600 general practitioners, family doctors and paediatricians throughout Armenia, thereby facilitating knowledge transfer and the sharing of practical advice.
Management of these infections at the primary health care level will result in strengthening essential services and decrease the burden of these diseases at secondary-level health care facilities.
