Decentralization of OPDs of Basic and Rural Health Care Units of Punjab, Pakistan | [Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: B. Life and Environmental Sciences • 2023]

Author(s):

1. Awais Gohar: University Institute of Public Health, The University of Lahore,Lahore,Pakistan

2. Ejaz Qureshi: University Institute of Public Health, The University of Lahore,Lahore,Pakistan

3. Farah Ahmad: Healthcare Systems Management Unit, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Ziauddin Medical University,Karachi,Pakistan

4. Hasnain Javed: Provincial Public Health Reference Lab, Punjab AIDS Control Program,Lahore,Pakistan

5. Warda Fatima: Institute of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab,Lahore,Pakistan

6. Nida Abdul Qadir: Provincial Public Health Reference Lab, Punjab AIDS Control Program,Lahore,Pakistan

Abstract:

Decentralization is associated with political administration and historical development and it varies according to region and implementation factors. In the 1980s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank demonstrated that corruption and bad administration in society are due to centralization policies which concentrated authority and power in the hands of the elite upper class. This criticism was an initial point to start the period of structural decentralization adjustment. Decentralization is a substantial process for equal distribution of healthcare service delivery in the community. The outpatient department (OPD) is one of the most important parts of any health care unit to diagnose and treat patients who do not require overnight care or stay in hospitals. The main purpose of this research was to analyze the efects of decentralization and improvements in health services for OPD by analyzing the number of patients in Primary Health Care Centers (Basic Health Unit (BHU) and Rural Health Centers (RHCs) in Punjab before and after decentralization. Non-probability convenient and simple random sampling technique was employed and patients visiting PHCs (primary healthcare centers) OPD, were included in the study population. OPD patients of rural and basic health care units were categorized into three pairs OPD 1, 2 and 3, and the means and other statistical parameters were calculated by using SPSS. The average mean of all groups of OPD patients of RHCs were 119441.1111, 192536.5185 and 153487.1358, respectively. The average mean of all groups of BHU was 94818.5062, 109331.7160, and 124231.0123, respectively. These results showed that the number of patients in the outdoor patient department increased after decentralization due to more health facilities.

Page(s): 653-660

DOI: 10.53560/PPASB(60-4)907

Published: Journal: Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: B. Life and Environmental Sciences, Volume: 60, Issue: 4, Year: 2023

Keywords:

Basic health unit , OPD , Decentralization , Rural Health Centers

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