Primary care and health system performance in Pakistan: A study of basic health units of South Punjab

Objective: To analyse the health system performance in the provision of primary health care in Pakistan's southern Punjab region. Methods: The cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in October 2014 in three tehsils of district Multan in the Punjab province of Pakistan, and comprised recipients of primary health care at basic health units. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis. Results: Of the 77 basic health units, 19(24.7%) were selected for this study. Of them, 4(23.5%) were located in Jalalpur Pirwala, 3(17.6%) in Shujabad and 12(70.6%) in Multan Sadar. Besides, of the 300 respondents interviewed, 72(24%) were from Jalalpur Pirwala, 48(16%) from Shujabad and 180(60%) from Multan Sadar. The majority of the population was not fully satisfied with the services provided by the basic health units and was unable to gain the entire facilities adequately. Most importantly, the long distance of basic health units fromresiding areas, low quality and shortage of medicine were the basic reasons affecting the performance of basic health units. Conclusion: The majority of the population was not fully satisfied with the services provided by basic health units.