Health Systems Program

Primary Health Care and Community Health

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Primary Health Care and Community Health in the Health Systems Program

Our work in primary health care and community health encompasses technical support, capacity building, evidence generation, program evaluations, intervention development, and teaching – all with a focus on strengthening primary health care systems. Our work focuses on system issues related to service delivery and financing, as well as the development of improved community-based interventions for improving maternal and neonatal health, strengthening human resources for health, using digital health tools to support workers and service delivery, and increasing equity and social accountability.

Our faculty work to strengthen communication bridges between consumers and providers; develop health care interventions around the social, cultural and behavioral norms of the communities they serve; develop and deliver curricula and training programs to enhance knowledge and skills; co-produce relevant and high-quality evidence with and for a range of stakeholders, including governments, development partners, and communities; and develop locally-relevant community participation mechanisms.

Meet some of our primary health care and community health faculty

Anbrasi Edward

Anbrasi M. Edward

Associate Practice Professor
International Health

Anbrasi Edward, PhD, MPH ’96, MBA, MSc, works in health systems research and evaluation addressing primary healthcare and community-oriented systems in global contexts.

Alain Koffi

Alain K. Koffi

Associate Scientist
International Health

Alain Koffi, MD, PhD, MS, is a population health researcher with a focus on the biological causes and social determinants of neonatal and child deaths in low-income countries.

Dinesh Neupane

Dinesh Neupane

Assistant Scientist
International Health

Dinesh Neupane, PhD, studies for global hypertension control, conducts epidemiological research on NCDs, and community healthcare workers at the primary health care level.

Krishna Rao

Krishna Dipankar Rao

Associate Professor
International Health

Krishna D. Rao, PhD ’04, MSc, finds ways to improve access to quality health services and financing of health care in low and middle-income countries.

Examples of Latest Projects

Strengthen national community-based delivery of primary health and nutrition services in Madagascar: Since June 2018, a JHU team composed of faculty in the Health Systems Program is supporting the government of Madagascar on a new program that focuses on strengthening community-based primary health care and nutrition services. 

Technical support for the International Institute for Primary Health Care for Ethiopia: The IPHC-E targets low- and middle-income countries to support PHC policy and program design to achieve the goal of universal health coverage. Bloomberg School faculty work closely with the institute on its institutional growth and global programs, including online curricula and an international conference on PHC.

Resolve to Save Lives: This project is a groundbreaking global health initiative with the goal of reducing preventable deaths from cardiovascular disease, in low- and middle-income countries. Johns Hopkins supports two core programs: hypertension control and sodium reduction.

India Primary Health Care Support Initiative: The IPSI project supports primary health care systems in India through measuring performance and demonstrating ways to improve system performance. IPSI will enable a continuous cycle of ‘demonstration’ ‘measurement’ and ‘recognition’ around performance improvement efforts with a view to unlocking of financial and human resources for high quality PHC in the focus states and beyond.