What is the Full Form of UPHC

UPHC: Urban Primary Health Care

UPHC stands for Urban Primary Health Care. Today world is witnessing rapid growth and development. And under this growth and development, almost every indicator of social development performs well. For Instance, access to education is provided to everyone, making the world an educated world. Similarly to education, health is one of the most important aspects or indicators of social development. Health is wealth; the quote is very well pronounced as good health is one of the most important ways to achieve anything and perform well in another sphere of life.

As the world is witnessing rapid growth and development, focusing on the efficient delivery of better health facilities is very important. If a person is physically fit and healthy, they perform well in their sphere of work and contribute to society's betterment. Better health service facilities and their efficient delivery are vital for any nation's growth and development. Better health facilities should be provided from the bottom to the top without discrimination. And for this government starred several programs and facilities. And under this article, we are discussing one of the effective systems of better health service delivery: Urban Primary Health Care (UPHC).

What is UPHC?

The concept of primary health care and a better health delivery system is not new to India; it has its roots in ancient India. Several texts from ancient India talk about primary health care, which is foundational to the Indian health system. But in modern India, it finds its roots in the Bhore Committee report of 1946; Bhore Committee introduced the primary health care system in India. It was considered the basic unit which provides basic health care services to the rural population.

Primary health care is close to the people, and it provides curative and preventive health care facilities to the people. This primary health care is limited to rural areas, but urban areas have various other versions of primary health care, varying from state to state and place to place. In urban areas, primary health care is provided in urban health and family welfare centers, urban health post, urban health centers, etc. But this system is unique and has a limited impact, as it provides services to a limited population.

With the introduction of the National Urban Health Mission, the focus is shifted toward the urban population and their health needs. Because of NUHM, the urban population's health needs are systematically addressed. Like rural primary healthcare centers, urban primary healthcare centers become the nodal point for delivering healthcare facilities under the National Health Mission umbrella. Under UPHC, the basic concept is the same, but it is modified to address the needs and health challenges faced by the urban population.

Today as the world is witnessing rapid industrialization, urban areas suffer from several new problems, such as being more congested as compared to earlier times, rising slums, lack of sanitation, improper water supply, poor garbage disposal, etc. And all these problems faced by urban areas created a favorable ground for infectious diseases and numerous other health problems. And to address this health problem, the role of Urban Primary Health Care is very important.

Urban primary health care centers help to provide better health services that are beneficial to an individual who is suffering from infections. The health facilities provided in Urban Primary Health Care are easily accessible and affordable, and only minimal fees are charged. It is considered the first line of defense against any infections which can become a pandemic. Today as the world is witnessing rapid growth and development, the need for efficient Urban Primary Health Care centers and their proper functioning is very important as it is very helpful in creating a healthy society.

Features of Urban Primary Health Care

1. Population Coverage:

Depending on the population distribution, the coverage of Urban Primary Health Care also varies; its coverage varies from 50,000 to 75,000 with sparse and highly concentrated slum populations, respectively. It also caters to a slum population between 25,000-30,000. With this population Coverage, it tries to cater to the health needs of the urban population and provide accessible and affordable health facilities.

2. Timing:

The timing of working of Urban Primary Health Care centers is very important as it provides health services 24×7. The operation hours of Urban Primary Health Care must be convenient for the urban working population and easily accessible to them. By keeping the timings of working in policy formulation, states may opt for suitable timings.

Urban primary health care, health services are provided for 8 hours, which is very convenient for the community needing health services. Thus by keeping all the stakeholder points and the community that caters to the health services, urban primary health care centers operate from 12 noon to 8 pm in every state. And if any state wants dual shifts, the state has to employ additional staff who can provide health services to another slot. If in any state, the caseloads are on high number, it may be criteria for the allocation of additional staff which provides health services.

3. Location:

The location of any health care service provider is very important, as it is beneficial for providing health services that can save the life of patients. Under urban primary health care facilities, centers that provide health services must be located either within or at a distance not more than ½ a kilometer from the urban areas, most preferably slum or slum-like habitation to ensure easy access to the vulnerable section of the urban areas.

4. Staff:

There are variations in the staff members of urban primary health care centers across the states. But the suggested pattern of Urban Primary Health Care is as follows;

• MO I/C-1
• 2nd MO (part-time)-1
• LHV-1
• Nurse-1
• Lab Technician-1
• Pharmacist-1
• ATMs- 3-5
• Public Health Manager, Mobilization Officer-1 Support Staff-3
• M & E Unit-1

Functions of Urban Primary Health Care

The main aim behind the introduction of UPHC is to cater to the health needs of the urban population and to work as nodal institutions in delivering health services to the designated population. Although it can be easily accessible by a large section of the population, whether the population reaping the benefits belongs to a particular area or is from others. The following are the most vital functions of Urban Primary Health Care;

A) Health Needs and Vulnerability Assessment:

The health services provided in urban primary health care centers are thoroughly customized. They are provided according to the needs of the population, which are identified through several data collected by the health care workers. Accredited Social Health activists or ASHA workers played a very important role in identifying the population's needs. They used to do vulnerability and health service needs assessments; for this, they covered each household. Several other healthcare workers support the ASHA during their vulnerability assessments. ANM or facilitator supervised the ASHA workers in Assessment.

And for completing the assessments in the allotted household, ASHA is given incentives. During the Assessment, it must be ensured that all the slum-like habitation, or pocket habitats inhabited by the homeless, for instance, railway tracks, footpaths, temple premises, etc., are thoroughly covered under the assessments. This data is very useful as it provides the baseline information that captures the urban population's health status. This data shows the policymakers which diseases are prevalent among the urban population and need the policy to tackle. And keeping this in mind, urban primary health care centers provide solutions to diseases.

B) Facility-Based Service:

The most important responsibility of urban primary health care is to provide comprehensive, preventive, promotive, and curative health care to the urban population. And the services which UPHC provides are OPD, basic lab diagnosis, drug or contraceptive dispensing, and the delivery of Reproductive & Child Health (RCH) services efficiently.

Also, it provides preventive and promotive solutions to all communicable and non-communicable diseases. Urban Primary Health Care shall provide easy and affordable access to drugs and diagnostics. From the urban primary health care centers, a patient can easily get other drugs recommended by the specialist, for instance, medicine for blood sugar or diabetes or hypertension, etc.

C) Outreach:

Through the Urban Primary Health Care center, health services are universally available to all citizens who reside or work in urban areas without discrimination. The outreach services are adjusted in such a manner that it provides on a targeted basis for the population of slum and, most importantly, the vulnerable section of the population. So by focusing on the vulnerable section, the services represented the true essence of the National Urban Health Mission.

In rural areas, there is a presence of subcentres that provides health services. Due to the transportation difficulties faced by the patient or the large distance the patient has to cover, it is important to set up subcentres. But in urban areas, there are no subcentres due to better transportation services, so the outreach services play a very important role and are critical in providing easy access to health services to vulnerable populations.

The outreach services are provided with the help of Female Health Workers, who attained an induction training of 3 to 6 months and are headquartered at the Urban Primary Health Care Center. The female health workers or ANM directly reported at UPHC. When in need, they move to respective areas to provide outreach services. And for this, they are provided with mobility support.

D) Disease Surveillance and Epidemic Control:

Today, evidence of new infections is on the rise as the cases of new diseases. Everyday new virus that can affect the human race is discovered. And in this present scenario, the role of Urban Primary Health Centres is very important because they have the additional task of disease surveillance and notification about certain new infections in their catchment area.

Primary Healthcare Workers can also acquire notification related to disease surveillance from private or nonprofit organizations in the health sector. And the UPHC has a major role to play in this respect. It includes liaising with the community and the health workers on the one hand by the manager of UPHC, and on the other hand, they have to manage IDSP and specific disease control programs.

The UPHC provides all the necessary help to the ULB in disease controlling or generating awareness. UPHC is the nodal health facility in the area, so their surveillance is very important. They produce valuable feedback such as the availability of clean water, sanitation services provided, and proper disposal of waste or not on behalf of the community. And if there is any outbreak, the urban primary health centers must investigate the cause and initiate the remedial measures necessary for public health action.

E) Data collection, Recording, and Management:

For a better assessment of any outbreak, the data is very critical. Data is very helpful in policy formulation and helps take all the necessary measures to save an infectious person's life. When new pathogens outbreaks occur, to understand the infection, syndrome, pattern, etc., assessment can use data to develop the medicine which can save lives. So the UPHC always records the collected data through vulnerability and various health assessment surveys.

This data must be compiled properly with the proper software and effectively used in policy formulation related to health services. Facility-based uploading of health management information system (HMIS) data is done at the level of UPHC. The state provides the appropriate equipment and technology which are needed. Uploaded or collected data must be supervised by the public health manager or the MO/IC. The staff of UPHC is trained properly so that they can collect data effectively, handle it properly and use it skillfully.

Numerous other functions of UPHC are very beneficial, for instance, it has the function of referral, under which a patient is referred to a specialist. Other functions include convergence with disease control programs, sharing of information, etc.