title: Equity in primary health care delivery: an examination of the cohesiveness of strategies relating to the primary healthcare system, the health workforce and hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To suggest ways of increasing the cohesiveness of national primary healthcare strategies and hepatitis C strategies, with the aim of ensuring that all these strategies include ways to address barriers and facilitators to access to primary healthcare and equity for people with hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  A critical review was conducted of the first national Primary Healthcare System Strategy and Health Workforce Strategy with the concurrent Hepatitis C Strategy. Content relating to provision of healthcare in private general practice was examined, focussing on issues around access and equity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all strategies, achieving access to care and equity was framed around providing sufficient medical practitioners for particular locations. Equity statements were present in all policies but only the Hepatitis C Strategy identified discrimination as a barrier to equity. Approaches detailed in the Primary Healthcare System Strategy and Health Workforce Strategy regarding current resource allocation, needs assessment and general practitioner incentives were limited to groups defined within these documents and may not identify or meet the needs of people with hepatitis C.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Actions in the primary healthcare system and health workforce strategies should be extended to additional groups beyond those listed as priority groups within the strategies. Future hepatitis C strategies should outline appropriate, detailed needs assessment methodologies and specify how actions in the broad strategies can be applied to benefit the primary healthcare needs of people with hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, School of Population Health, Level 11, 178 North Terrace, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. Email.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.affiliation: Discipline of General Practice, School of Population Health, Level 11, 178 North Terrace, The University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. Email.
authors.forename: Jaklin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eliott
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Flinders University, SA 5042, Australia. Email:.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Public Health, School of Health Sciences, Flinders University, SA 5042, Australia. Email:.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aylward
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000078329:Workforce