ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies peoples’ current and evolving health care needs, introduces the role of family physicians in health systems, delineates challenges involved in implementing primary health care and family medicine, and provides country-specific scenarios to clarify and facilitate health policy decisions by national leaders. In spite of remarkable advances in medical science and technology, over one billion people throughout the world do not have access to basic health services. Family medicine also serves to link those concerned with population health and those who are at the forefront of delivering health care to individuals. The health status of individuals and populations is influenced by a variety of biological, social, and economic determinants. Key variables include a country’s stage of socioeconomic development, availability and distribution of resources, the number and distribution of physicians and other key health workers, and the epidemiology of diseases.
