EXTENDED DEADLINE! Case of primary care in closed settings/prisons
The working group ‘Prison Health’ of the European Forum for Primary Care would like to collect cases of how the relationships between health care in prisons and primary care after release from prison are organized and what kind of and by whom primary care is provided in prisons. This information will contribute to a position paper that informs about the continuity of care between prison and community and the role and need of primary care in closed settings.
Please, send this questionnaire to info@euprimarycare.org

NEW Deadline: 30^th November 2020.

Petition for the campaign 30by2030
https://30by2030.net/
We are calling for major international donors to dedicate a substantial portion of their vertical (disease-oriented) based budgets to the strengthening of horizontal Primary Health Care systems so that all diseases can be prevented and people treated in a comprehensive way. This puts into practice the WHA Resolution 62.12, urging member states “to encourage that vertical programs, including disease-specific programs, are developed, integrated and implemented in the context of integrated Primary Health Care”. Our target is that 30% of such budgets are allocated to primary care by 2030.
Please sign the petition now!

Last day to register! Join our Webinar– Put the Horse Before the Cart: Tomorrow, Friday 27th of November at 14h (CET) with leading keynote speakers
EFPC will be holding a video webinar exploring investment in health workforce and the impact of COVID-19 on 27th of November at 14h (CET). The session will consist of a keynote presentation from Prof. Dr. Maria van den Muijsenbergh (Department of Primary and Community Care at Radboud University Medical Centre) and Prof. Em. Jan De Maeseneer (Department of Public Health and Primary Care at Ghent University).
The webinar is a pre-recorded video of the presentation, both presenters will moderate the meeting for discussion and provide the opportunity for questions.
Please register via the EFPC website

The WHO and UNICEF Operational Framework for Primary Health Care has been approved by the World Health Assembly 73.
WHO Member States recommended the adoption of several resolutions in the 73^rd World Health Assembly.
Committee A, which focuses on programme and budget matters, noted the Operational Framework for Primary Health Care, which aligns with the Declaration of Astana and resolution WHA72.2 (2019). WHO has established a Special Programme on Primary Health Care to roll out the Operational Framework – supporting Member States to build people-centred, resilient and sustainable primary health care-based health systems.
This Operational framework for PHC outlines a series of levers that can be actioned to align health systems according to a PHC approach. The Operational Framework can be found at the WHO website in 6 different languages.

Cities against COVID-19: citizens seek a “better normal” of urban life
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Urban communities organizing themselves in their own neighbourhoods are striving to keep countries healthy, sustainable, inclusive and economically active during times that are hard for everyone. In many cities of the Region, authorities, health professionals and local communities are working together towards creating a “better normal” of city life that will outlive the pandemic.

Featured Doctor: Dr Harris Lygidakis is the WONCA World CEO designate, and is taking office in Brussels in January 2021.
It is a real privilege for me to be taking over from Dr Garth Manning, who has really gone far and beyond in helping to turn our organisation into a sustainable one. For my part, I am particularly focused on developing our communications strategy, reaching out to our membership and our supporters, and strengthening our brand identity. Without sounding too corporate, it’s important that people know who we are, what we do, and how to get involved.
The most immediate item on the list is relocating our secretariat from Bangkok to Brussels, whilst ensuring that our core services remain uninterrupted.

Recruitment and participation of a survey in a public–private primary care setting: experience from the QUALICOPC Malaysia
Masliyana Husin, Norazida Ab Rahman, Xin Ci Wong, Kamaliah Mohamad Noh, Seng Fah Tong, Willemijn Schäfer, Wienke Boerma, Rifat Atun and Sheamini Sivasampu
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423620000511
The purpose of this paper is to describe the recruitment strategies, the response rates and the reasons for non-response of Malaysian public and private primary care doctors in an international survey on the quality, cost and equity in primary care. Low research participation by primary care doctors, especially those working in the private sector, is a challenge to quality benchmarking.

Health at a Glance: Europe 2020. State of Health in the EU Cycle
The 2020 edition of Health at a Glance: Europe focuses on the impact of the COVID 19 crisis. Chapter 1 provides an initial assessment of the resilience of European health systems to the COVID-19 pandemic and their ability to contain and respond to the worst pandemic in the past century. Chapter 2 reviews the huge health and welfare burden of air pollution as another major public health issue in European countries, and highlights the need for sustained efforts to reduce air pollution to mitigate its impact on health and mortality. The five other chapters provide an overview of key indicators of health and health systems across the 27 EU member states, 5 EU candidate countries, 3 European Free Trade Association countries and the United Kingdom. Health at a Glance: Europe is the first step in the State of Health in the EU cycle.

International Health News Brief: COVID-19 and Equity
This special issue of International Health News Brief examines how COVID-19 has affected inequities in health and health care, including among members of racial and ethnic minorities, people with low incomes, older adults, children, and migrants and refugees.
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“Policy Takeaway: Pandemic responses that are culturally appropriate and community-led can help ensure health and safety among Indigenous communities.”

Family Physicians' Knowledge about and Attitudes towards COVID-19 - A Cross-sectional Multicentric Study
Ozden Gokdemir, Halil Pak, Maria Bakola, Sudip Bhattacharya, Kyle Hoedebecke, and Eleni Jelastopulu
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected every country on earth, and family physicians (FPs) have helped patients at every stage. First objective of their study was to study the FPs' knowledge about COVID-19 and second objective was to assess their attitudes, stress and death anxiety surrounding the current pandemic.
This pandemic has not ended yet. If healthcare workers are physically or mentally unwell, then their community will also suffer. The mental health of frontline workers must be well evaluated in order to create sustainable solutions.

Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring health equity — The role of the European Semester
Recommendations
On the basis of the evidence we have gathered and analysed in 2020, decision makers at all levels across Europe – and specifically those acting in the context of the revised European Semester process in 2020 and subsequent years - are advised to:

1. Use the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility and other recovery funds for capacity building and strengthening public health and health promotion and its connections with primary and community care. There are also regional variations and disparities which need to be addressed for cohesion and wellbeing.

Impact of COVID-19 on loneliness, mental health, and health service utilisation: a prospective cohort study of older adults with multimorbidity in primary care
Samuel Yeung Shan Wong, Dexing Zhang, Regina Wing Shan Sit, Benjamin Hon Kei Yip, Roger Yat-nork Chung, Carmen Ka Man Wong, Dicken Cheong Chun Chan, Wen Sun, Kin On Kwok and Stewart W Mercer
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic on 11 March 2020, countries across the world have adopted various levels of social distancing measures to limit the spread of the virus. In Hong Kong, the first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported on 23 January 2020. Although evidence suggests that social distancing measures are effective in controlling the spread of the virus, there are likely to be adverse effects on psychological, social, and physical health, especially among vulnerable parts of the population.

From value for money to value-based health services: a twenty-first century shift. WHO Policy Brief
Health policy makers around the world have long shown interest in the value created by health systems and this preoccupation will likely only intensify in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing global recession. Yet, there remains much confusion about what value actually means and none of the existing approaches has looked at value holistically, from the perspective of the entire health system.
This policy brief explicitly looks at how to value health, and how to work through three levers to improve value in health care - setting a health benefits package, strategic purchasing and integrated people-centred health services which should be based on a strong primary health care foundation.

Health Systems Focus Pandemic Response on Population Health, Community Outreach
Interviews with health system leaders in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Seattle, and the Washington–Baltimore area reveal that community outreach is as integral to their COVID-19 responses as hospital preparedness. Read about their strategies to deal the pandemic in a new feature article by the Commonwealth Fund’s Sarah Klein and Martha Hostetter.
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“Prior to the virus we had been focused on the needs of patients and communities, thinking about care not just in the hospital but more holistically,” says Meena Seshamani, M.D., Ph.D., MedStar Health’s vice president for clinical care transformation. “That has come full circle because you can’t fully address a public health crisis within the four walls of the hospital.”