Policy Bites with Amanda Howe: 2015 in review

Professor Amanda Howe, WONCA President–Elect, said in her speech at the WONCA Council in 2013 that she would “help with policy messages".

These are her policy bites from 2015 with most having been translated into Spanish:

Policy Bite: Early years – the importance of family doctors in intervention and advocacy.

December, 2015

One of the most heart wrenching aspects of the photos of refugees is the sight of small children trailing across deserts, being dragged into boats, or through police lines. Any family can be the victim of a tragedy, but the odds are stacked against children from lower income families.

español: Fragmentos de política: Primeros años – la importancia de la intervención y la promoción para los médicos de familia

Policy Bite: Migration & refugee health – new challenges

November, 2015

The recent situation of rapid and unplanned migration in Europe has raised my awareness of a situation which many other regions have already experienced. The WONCA Europe conference saw the launch of the ‘Istanbul statement’ on refugee health, and much discussion.

español: Fragmentos de Política: Migraciones y refugiados de la salud

Policy Bite: What gets measured gets managed?

October, 2015

Prof Amanda Howe is on holidays, so this month’s Policy Bite is written by guest author Dr is Luisa Pettigrew. Luisa is a member of WONCA Executive and our liaison person with the WHO. The cliché is that “if it is not measured it is not managed” - or simply may not be done. Whilst there are numerous pitfalls associated with wanting to measure things that cannot or should not be measured, there is also some underlying truth in this saying.

español: Fragmentos de Política: ¿Lo que se mide, se gestiona?

Policy Bite: Gender and health – a major equity agenda

September, 2015

A new publication from colleagues in the Netherlands came my way this month, and reminded me of why I got involved with WONCA in the 1990s. The report was drawn to my attention by Professor Toine Lagro-Janssen, who was an academic colleague of our Past President Prof Chris van Weel.

español: Fragmentos de Política: Género y salud – una agenda más equitativa

Policy Bite: The modern primary care workforce

August, 2015

I have recently been a member of an independent ‘Commission’ to make recommendations about the primary care workforce in England - very interesting to put one’s own ideas to scrutiny by equally intelligent and critical peers from other backgrounds.

español: Fragmentos de Política: El personal moderno de Atención Primaria

Policy Bite: Family doctors – what does the name really mean?

July, 2015

So what does the deep commitment to “family” mean in our title? As I sat in the late nights in a hospital ward following the birth, I thought of witness, watching and waiting, wonder.

español: Fragmentos de Política: médicos de familia – a qué nos referimos realmente?

Policy bite: The role of family medicine in ‘choosing wisely’.

June, 2015

There is a big conversation going on – about a group of concepts variously termed as ‘overdiagnosis’, ‘overmedicalization’, and ‘quarternary prevention’. WONCA already has members who are active in this debate.

español: Fragmentos de Política : El papel de la medicina familiar al “elegir sabiamente”

Policy Bite: A brief note on election day…

May, 2015

Today my country goes to the polls. During the last government, we had a major health service reform, with a new ‘market’ model where more services could be contracted with private providers; family medicine doctors were tasked to manage the budget to buy services from the hospital and referral centres: and large scale reorganisation occurred, within the context of a taxation funded public health service.

Policy Bite: The role of primary care in the ageing population

April, 2015

At the end of the day good primary health care for older people reflects the value we place on our elders; the ‘pay back’ we offer for their contribution, and the resources they still offer us. It is a test of civilised societies, a moral imperative, and what we hope for ourselves in our old age.

español: Fragmentos de Política: El papel de la atención primaria en el envejecimiento de la población

Policy Bite: successful lobbying for family medicine

March, 2015

I am writing to share with you what a ‘roadmap’ to strengthen family medicine in your own country might need to include in terms of strategy: and also to share with you the things my own WONCA member organisation, did to try to secure this high level intervention.

español: Fragmentos de Política: Influencia exitosa para la medicina de familia

Policy Bite: Hot on the planet – should WONCA be considering sustainable travel policies?

February, 2015

This month's policy bite with Amanda Howe, President-elect ... I am writing this to start a bit of a debate, and also to consider other ways of being present without always needing to fly and stay.


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