Primary Health Care - Barefoot Doctors Case Study

Barefoot Doctors:

• Health workers who lived in the community they served so locals trusted them.
• Focused on preventative measures rather than curative medicine.
• Lowered medical bills by combining western and traditional medicines.
• Locals were educated and trained in basic medical care = less visits to hospital.
• Barefoot Doctors were paid for by the community.

Success:

• This was very successful in the early years, ALTHOUGH...
• Too few health workers were trained to supply all the rural communities.
• Lack of funing within communities to pay for the training.
• Lack of volunteers due to the lure of higher wages in cities.