10 years of preventive health in Australia. Part 3 – engaging primary health care

Mark F Harris

doi:10.1071/PU24018

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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10 years of preventive health in Australia. Part 3 – engaging primary health care

Mark F Harris ^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A University of New South Wales, International Centre for Future Health Systems, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: m.f.harris@unsw.edu.au

Public Health Research and Practice 35, PU24018 https://doi.org/10.1071/PU24018

Submitted: 7 May 2024 Accepted: 23 December 2024 Published: 15 May 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Sax Institute. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Primary health care provides a comprehensive range of preventive care for the Australian population. Prevention is now a core activity of general practice, and engagement of a range of non-medical providers and digital tools has enhanced its capacity. There are promising strategies to further engage primary health care from both the government and the profession. However, funding, workload and systemic barriers have frustrated adoption and implementation over the past decade. These need to be addressed for further progress to be achieved.

Keywords: digital, disparities, funding, health behaviours, implementation, preventive care, primary care, workforce.

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