Advances in Primary Health Care and Community Health

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Community Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 June 2025 | Viewed by 6688

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: public health; community health care; primary health care; lifestyle; nursing care; vaccines; nursing process; nursing education research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Complutense University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: public health; community health care; vaccines; epidemiology; biostatistics; nursing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the beginning of the global health emergency generated by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, numerous research groups have focused their work on evaluating aspects related to the pandemic itself (vaccines, transmission mechanisms, detection tests, symptom control, etc.). As a result of this research work, a large number of publications related to the pandemic have been produced in recent times. Although this new research focus has been necessary and positive, the priority of researching aspects related to the current emergency should not make us forget the importance of continuing research into other relevant areas of knowledge, as is the case here, in health sciences and public health protection, with the aim of continuing to generate scientific advances in this field. In this sense, many research groups have continued to develop, in many cases with significant limitations and difficulties, but with the required scientific rigor, their lines of research during this period of pandemic. This Special Issue focuses on this research. Specifically, we want to make visible the research carried out in aspects related to community health during the pandemic period, so we welcome original articles and critical reviews developed with this approach, in this period.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Pérez-Rivas
Prof. Dr. María Julia Ajejas Bazán
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • public health
  • community health care
  • primary health care
  • health promotion
  • lifestyle
  • environmental health
  • health care sciences and services
  • chronic disease

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 744 KiB  
Article
Developmental Trajectories of Intrinsic Capacity Among Older Adults: Results from the China Longitudinal Study of Aging
by Jia Zhou, Hui Chang and Zhiwen Wang
Healthcare 2025, 13(5), 520; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13050520 - 27 Feb 2025
Viewed by 462
Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown that intrinsic capacity changes over time and can independently predict adverse outcomes such as mortality and care dependence in older adults. However, explorations of the heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of intrinsic capacity are limited. Aim: This [...] Read more.
Background: Previous studies have shown that intrinsic capacity changes over time and can independently predict adverse outcomes such as mortality and care dependence in older adults. However, explorations of the heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of intrinsic capacity are limited. Aim: This study aimed to identify potential intrinsic capacity trajectory groups and the factors impacting different trajectory groups among older adults. Methods: We utilized data from 2454 older adults aged 60 and above, sourced from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Our analyses were conducted using growth mixture modeling, chi-square tests, and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results: We identified four intrinsic capacity trajectory groups among older adults in China: low-level intrinsic capacity (3.2%), medium-level increasing intrinsic capacity (13.0%), medium-level decreasing intrinsic capacity (12.0%), and stable high intrinsic capacity (71.8%). Age was an influencing factor of the medium-level increasing intrinsic capacity, medium-level decreasing intrinsic capacity, and stable high intrinsic capacity trajectory groups. Compared to individuals in the low-level intrinsic capacity trajectory group, individuals in the medium-level decreasing intrinsic capacity group were more likely to regularly exercise and participate in social activity, and those in the stable high intrinsic capacity group were more likely to be male, drink, participate in social activity, and have good self-rated health. Conclusions: Understanding the developmental trajectories of the intrinsic capacity of the older adults can contribute to formulating personalized intervention planning. We identified four intrinsic capacity trajectories in a cohort of older adults in China, which highlights significant heterogeneity in intrinsic capacity development. Our findings suggest that age, gender, exercise, drinking, social activity, and self-rated health of older adults have important effects on different intrinsic capacity development trajectories. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Primary Health Care and Community Health)
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14 pages, 1495 KiB  
Article
Healthcare Priorities, Barriers, and Preferences According to a Community Health Needs Assessment in Jazan, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Ibrahim M. Gosadi
Healthcare 2025, 13(2), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13020107 - 8 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1024
Abstract
Background: Community needs assessments can provide valuable insights concerning the health of communities. This study aims to measure health priorities according to community members in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, to assess healthcare service utilization, barriers to accessing these services, and preferences for utilizing [...] Read more.
Background: Community needs assessments can provide valuable insights concerning the health of communities. This study aims to measure health priorities according to community members in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, to assess healthcare service utilization, barriers to accessing these services, and preferences for utilizing government or private healthcare services. Method: Multistage sampling was utilized to reach a sample of adults in community settings. The assessment was performed via personal interviews utilizing a structured questionnaire to measure demographics, health priorities, service utilization, barriers, and preferences for healthcare settings. Chi-squared tests, Student’s t-tests, and multivariate regression analysis were used to assess the differences between demographics and service utilization according to the preferred healthcare settings. Results: A total of 3411 participants were recruited for the assessment. The mean age of the participants was 34 years, and 51% were male. The participants viewed diabetes as the most important health condition. Emergency services and primary care were viewed as the most important healthcare services, and time constraints were the main barriers to healthcare accessibility. Thirty-six percent of the participants preferred to utilize healthcare services in the private sector, where age, gender, nationality, education, income, housing type, and family size were statistically associated with the preference for seeking healthcare in either the private or government sectors (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Future assessment is required to recruit healthcare providers and decision-makers to understand the process of strengthening multidisciplinary collaboration to tackle chronic diseases such as diabetes, strengthen the role of emergency and primary healthcare services, and address time constraints pertaining to healthcare accessibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Primary Health Care and Community Health)
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16 pages, 292 KiB  
Article
Subjective Health Status, Health-Related Behavior, and Health Literacy of Health Professional Students: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study
by Ivonne-Nadine Jürgensen, Peter Koch, Ramona Otto, Annike Morgane Nock and Corinna Petersen-Ewert
Healthcare 2024, 12(2), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12020277 - 22 Jan 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2184
Abstract
The importance of health promotion for health professional students is increasingly crucial, as the rising requirements for those students can have a negative impact on their health. Despite this awareness, there is still limited knowledge in Germany about the specific health needs of [...] Read more.
The importance of health promotion for health professional students is increasingly crucial, as the rising requirements for those students can have a negative impact on their health. Despite this awareness, there is still limited knowledge in Germany about the specific health needs of this group of students. This study’s aim was, therefore, to assess the subjective health of first-year students and to identify health needs. Thus, this study is based on an online survey using standardized measurement instruments. First-year students from three degree programs were included. The data were analyzed descriptively. A total of n = 98 (72.6%) participated in the survey. The results showed that a major proportion of participants (80.3%) rated their health positively, but a significant proportion reported weight disorders (24%) and pre-existing health conditions (62.1%) at baseline. Interestingly, a high proportion (59%) reported a high level of mental well-being at the time of the survey. However, worrying findings regarding lifestyle behaviors, including physical inactivity (40.6%), smoking (20%), risky alcohol use (24%), and unhealthy eating habits (37%) were determined. In terms of health literacy, around 45% of students rated their health competencies as problematic. Furthermore, it was found that students with low health literacy had a significantly higher prevalence of low mental well-being (53.3% vs. 30.8%, p = 0.036) and unhealthy eating habits (48.8% vs. 26.5%, p = 0.027) compared to students with sufficient health literacy. Health professional students should be considered a relevant target group for health and health competence promotion from the beginning of their studies. The identified fields of action should be addressed in the context of health promotion. This is of particular importance as they are not only aimed at improving the students’ well-being but also will later work directly with patients and, therefore, have a direct influence on the health of others. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Primary Health Care and Community Health)
16 pages, 319 KiB  
Article
Correlation between Health and eHealth Literacy and a Healthy Lifestyle: A Cross-Sectional Study of Spanish Primary Healthcare Patients
by David García-García, María Julia Ajejas Bazán and Francisco Javier Pérez-Rivas
Healthcare 2023, 11(22), 2980; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11222980 - 18 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2261
Abstract
Background: Health literacy and eHealth literacy play a crucial role in improving a community’s ability to take care of themselves, ultimately leading to a reduction in disparities in health. Embracing a healthy way of living is vital in lessening the impact of illnesses [...] Read more.
Background: Health literacy and eHealth literacy play a crucial role in improving a community’s ability to take care of themselves, ultimately leading to a reduction in disparities in health. Embracing a healthy way of living is vital in lessening the impact of illnesses and extending one’s lifespan. This research delves into the link between the health and eHealth literacy levels of individuals accessing primary healthcare services and investigates how this relates to adopting a health-conscious lifestyle. Methods: The approach involves a cross-sectional examination carried out at a healthcare facility in the Madrid region of Spain, focusing on adult patients who are in need of primary care nursing services. Health and eHealth literacy and a healthy lifestyle were measured using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ), the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ), and the “PA100” questionnaire, respectively. Results: Only some of the dimensions of the HLQ and eHLQ were significantly related to a healthy lifestyle, predominantly with a very low or low relationship. Dimension three of the HLQ and dimension five of the eHLQ acquired more importance and were positioned as positive predictors of a healthy lifestyle. Conclusions: This study helps comprehend the relationship between health and eHealth literacy and a healthy lifestyle, which provides information that contributes to understanding the factors that might have a higher impact on lifestyles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Primary Health Care and Community Health)
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