How integrating primary care and public health could improve population health outcomes: a view from Liverpool, UK

Abstract

Although primary care is at the forefront of delivering healthcare to the population, its role in preventing poor health has varied throughout history. Faced with growing demand on healthcare services and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, some health systems are attempting to integrate healthcare delivery with broader population health and wellbeing interventions. Liverpool has a rich history of taking action to improve population health; this paper discusses a range of interventions that have taken place across the city. There is a renewed opportunity to systematise approaches to primary and secondary prevention, strengthened by the lead that general practitioners now have in commissioning health services and their accountability for improved population health outcomes through clinical commissioning groups. This is strongly articulated in the Healthy Liverpool program, a city-wide plan for health and care services. This paper suggests that four key enablers strengthen delivery of public health priorities through primary care: maximising opportunities to identify risk factors for preventable disease, fully exploiting the data collected in primary care to plan and design services, responding to community needs and assets through community engagement, and addressing wider determinants of health through strong partnerships.