Problems of primary health care in a newly developed society: reflections on the Hong Kong experience.
Hong Kong has emerged as a newly developed society in Asia and its modern scientific health care system has had a substantial expansion. Recently, the rise of medical costs has made the health authority come to stress the development of PHC. This paper focuses on three major aspects of the PHC development in Hong Kong: (1) public health and preventive care; (2) food supply and nutrition; and (3) first-contact medical care and referral network. It is argued that in a newly developed society, the emphasis on developing both the quality and the quantity of PHC in the scientific biomedical stream is justifiable. However, at least two kinds of problems need to be taken into consideration, i.e. the prevalence of traditional beliefs and practices and the ever-rising demands of the public for health services.
D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006291:Health Policy; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D011634:Public Health; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors