title: Experiencing "change" from within: situating the transition to primary health care in a remote Australian context.
abstract: The transition to primary health care (PHC) is often described in an idealized manner, which either ignores or obscures the experiences associated with its implementation at the local level. By adopting an anthropological perspective, this article highlights some of these experiences and the context within which they occur for one health care organisation in remote Western Australia. It specifically focuses on problems associated with economic rationalism, managerialism, and the inherently fragmented character of health service organisations. Such issues must be allowed to inform idealized PHC models in order to make them more applicable and attuned to local needs and realities.
authors.affiliation: Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health, Geradlton, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lockhart
mesh_terms: D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006284:Health Plan Implementation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D017146:Models, Organizational; D015279:Organizational Culture; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D014904:Western Australia