Primary Care
Often the first point of contact for many health needs. Primary care can support prevention, assessment, treatment and continuing care.
FIRST CONTACT
PAGE 12 · PERSONAL CARE & PREVENTION
Navigating
Navigating
Health Services
Know where to go, who can help, what to ask, and how to move through a health system with confidence, respect and responsibility.
KNOW
→
FIND
→
CONNECT
→
COORDINATE
→
FOLLOW UP
GHE PRINCIPLE
A good health system should help people
know where to go — not leave them to figure
everything out alone.
Health care can involve many different people, organizations and levels of service. You might begin by looking for reliable information, speak with a primary-care professional, receive a referral, visit a specialist, use community services, or need urgent or emergency care.
Understanding how these pieces fit together can make it easier to seek appropriate help, communicate clearly, prepare for appointments and follow up on the next steps.
WHO emphasizes primary health care as a foundation for health systems because it brings health services closer to communities and supports prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and continuing care.
Think like a Global Health Explorer:
Don't ask only: "Where is the hospital?"
Ask: "What kind of help do I need, and what is the appropriate place to start?"
A health system is much bigger than hospitals and doctors. It includes people, organizations, policies, financing, information, medicines, public-health programs and community services that work together to protect and improve health.
Community Health
Services and programs delivered close to where people live, learn and work, including health promotion and prevention.
COMMUNITYSpecialist Care
Professionals with expertise in particular areas of health may become involved when more specialized assessment or treatment is needed.
SPECIALIZEDHospitals
Hospitals provide a range of services, including inpatient, diagnostic, surgical, urgent and other specialized care.
ADVANCED CAREPublic Health
Works with populations and communities on prevention, surveillance, health promotion, protection and emergency preparedness.
POPULATION HEALTHSocial & Support Services
Health is influenced by housing, income, food, transportation, education, disability access, social support and many other conditions.
BEYOND HEALTH CAREPrimary care is not simply "basic" care. It is a central part of strong health systems. WHO identifies five important functions of primary care:
01
First-contact accessibility
02
Continuity
03
Coordination
04
Comprehensiveness
05
People-centredness
"
Good health services should help people receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place — while respecting their needs and preferences.
GHE interpretation of WHO people-centred care principlesThe exact pathway differs between countries and health systems. But many health journeys involve a similar set of decisions.
1
NOTICE
Recognize a health question, concern, change or need.
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2
FIND
Identify a trustworthy source or appropriate service.
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3
CONNECT
Contact the appropriate professional, service or organization.
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4
UNDERSTAND
Ask questions and make sure you understand the information and next steps.
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5
FOLLOW UP
Know what happens next and where to go if the situation changes.
BEFORE
Prepare
- Write down the main reason for your visit.
- Note important questions you want to ask.
- Bring relevant information requested by the service.
- Consider asking a trusted adult to accompany or support you when appropriate.
DURING
Participate
- Explain your concern clearly.
- Ask if you do not understand a term.
- Ask what the next step is.
- Ask where you can find reliable information afterward.
AFTER
Follow Up
- Remember the agreed next step.
- Keep information that the service tells you to keep.
- Know who to contact if you have questions about the plan.
- Seek appropriate help if your situation changes or becomes urgent.
You do not need to know every medical term to participate in your health care. Asking clear questions can help turn complicated information into understandable next steps.
UNDERSTAND
"What does this mean?"
Ask for unfamiliar words or concepts to be explained in plain language.
PURPOSE
"Why is this being recommended?"
Understanding the purpose can help you make informed decisions.
OPTIONS
"What are the options?"
When appropriate, ask whether there are different reasonable approaches.
NEXT STEP
"What happens next?"
Clarify follow-up, timing and who you should contact if you have further questions.
URGENCY
"When should I seek further help?"
Ask what changes or warning signs should prompt you to seek additional care.
INFORMATION
"Where can I learn more?"
Ask for trustworthy sources rather than relying on random online posts.
A referral can connect a person with another professional or service when additional expertise or support is needed.
In a well-coordinated system, information and responsibilities are communicated across services as appropriate, while respecting privacy and consent requirements.
Coordination matters especially when people use multiple services or need continuing care.
REFERRAL
Connecting someone to another service or
professional.
COORDINATION
Helping different parts of care work together.
CONTINUITY
Supporting care over time rather than treating
every encounter as completely separate.
FOLLOW-UP
Making sure the next step is understood and
does not simply disappear.
Having a health service somewhere in a country does not automatically mean that every person can use it easily.
Transportation, geography, income, housing, disability access, language, digital connectivity, discrimination, education, trust and cultural safety can all influence people's ability to obtain appropriate care.
A Global Health Explorer therefore asks not only whether a service exists, but whether people can reach it, afford it, understand it and use it safely and respectfully.
ACCESS
AFFORDABILITY
AVAILABILITY
ACCEPTABILITY
ACCESSIBILITY
QUALITY
DIGNITY
EQUITY
Learn your local pathway
Health services and access pathways vary by province, territory, community and service. Learning how local services work is part of health literacy.
A young person should know which trusted adults, school resources and appropriate health professionals can help them understand local options.
Ask who is being left behind
Around the world, health systems differ in organization, resources, financing and access. Yet the goal of equitable, quality, people-centred care is universal.
Global Health Explorers compare systems while remembering that countries cannot simply copy one another: solutions must fit local needs, resources, cultures and communities.
UHC
Universal Health Coverage
WHO defines universal health coverage as ensuring that all people can access the full range of quality health services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship.
01
Health promotion
02
Prevention
03
Treatment
04
Rehabilitation
05
Palliative care
06
Financial protection
OPPORTUNITY
Digital access
Online information, telehealth and digital services can make some forms of care and information easier to reach.
CHALLENGE
Digital exclusion
Not everyone has the same access to devices, connectivity, digital skills, accessible interfaces or trustworthy information.
RESPONSIBILITY
Digital health literacy
Learn to evaluate online information, recognize unreliable claims, protect privacy and know when an online source cannot replace professional care.
Health-service navigation is strongly connected to the social determinants of health.
Imagine two people with the same health concern. One may have transportation, stable housing, internet access, supportive adults and flexible time. The other may face several barriers before even reaching a service.
Equity means recognizing these differences and designing systems that reduce avoidable barriers.
HOUSING
INCOME
EDUCATION
TRANSPORT
LANGUAGE
DIGITAL ACCESS
DISABILITY ACCESS
SOCIAL SUPPORT
1
Explore
How does my local health system work?
2
Learn
Understand services and pathways.
3
Think
Ask whether access is equitable.
4
Connect
Link self, community and systems.
5
Reflect
What barriers might others face?
6
Act
Help make navigation easier.
With a teacher, school staff member or qualified health professional supervising the project, explore how easily young people can understand and navigate local health services.
01
QUESTION
What health services do young people know about?
02
MAP
Identify trusted local and community resources.
03
CHECK
Examine accessibility, clarity and barriers.
04
LISTEN
Collect voluntary, anonymous feedback.
05
ANALYZE
Look for patterns without identifying individuals.
06
ACT
Suggest one practical improvement.
Keep the project safe and educational
- Participation should be voluntary.
- Follow school policies and obtain any required parent/guardian permission or student assent.
- Do not collect names, addresses, diagnoses, medication information or other sensitive personal health information.
- Report findings only in aggregated form.
- Use validated questionnaires only with appropriate supervision and permission/licensing.
- Treat the activity as a learning or quality-improvement exercise unless formal research approval has been obtained.
Draw Your Health-System Map
Starting with "ME", draw a pathway showing how someone might move from a health question to appropriate information, primary care, specialist care or another service.
Challenge:
Where could someone become confused or lost?
Health-Service Detective
With a teacher or trusted adult, choose one local health service. Find out what it does, who it serves, how people access it and where trustworthy information about it can be found.
Challenge:
Can another student understand the pathway
using only your explanation?
Barrier Detective
Imagine that three students need the same service but have different transportation, language, financial, disability or digital-access situations.
Challenge:
What could the system change to make access fairer?
WHO's people-centred approach emphasizes engaging and empowering people and communities, strengthening governance and accountability, coordinating services and creating environments that support quality care.
This means that health-system navigation is not only an individual skill. It is also a system responsibility.
LISTEN
INCLUDE
COORDINATE
MEASURE
IMPROVE
EQUITABLY
SDG 3
Good Health & Well-being
Equitable access to quality health services is central to healthier lives.
SDG 10
Reduced Inequalities
Health systems should reduce avoidable inequalities rather than reproduce them.
SDG 16
Strong Institutions
Trustworthy, accountable institutions help people participate in public systems.
SDG 17
Partnerships
Health improvement requires collaboration across sectors, communities and countries.
Choose the best answer. The goal is not to memorize a particular country's health system, but to develop the reasoning skills needed to navigate health services responsibly.
What is one important role of primary care?
Answer
B. Primary care can provide first-contact, continuing and coordinated care.
What does "coordination of care" mean?
Answer
C. Coordination helps different services and professionals work together.
Which question is especially useful at the end of an appointment?
Answer
A. Clarifying the next step improves understanding and follow-up.
Which is a social determinant that can affect access to care?
Answer
D. All can influence people's ability to obtain and use health services.
What is universal health coverage trying to achieve?
Answer
B. UHC includes access to needed quality health services without financial hardship.
Why might a referral be needed?
Answer
A. Referrals can connect people to additional expertise or services.
Which statement best describes people-centred care?
Answer
B. People-centred care puts people, families and communities at the centre.
What should you do if you do not understand a health term?
Answer
B. Asking questions is an important health-literacy skill.
Which statement about digital health is most accurate?
Answer
C. Digital health can create opportunities while also producing digital-access and literacy barriers.
What is the best approach when mapping local health services for a school project?
Answer
C. A youth learning project should minimize data collection and protect privacy.
Why is equity important in health-service navigation?
Answer
B. Different social and structural conditions can create unequal opportunities to obtain care.
What is a strong Global Health Explorer question?
Answer
B. Global health leadership asks how systems can become fairer, safer and more effective.
Imagine you are new to a community and do not know how its health system works.
Could you find trustworthy information? Would you know where to start? Could you communicate in a language and format you understand? Could you afford or physically reach the service? Would you know what happens next?
Reflect:
What is one change that could make your local
health system easier for young people to navigate?
SELF
Learn how your local health system works.
FAMILY & PEERS
Share trustworthy information with people who may need help finding a service.
COMMUNITY
Identify barriers that make services difficult to understand or reach.
COUNTRY
Ask whether health policies and systems promote equity and quality.
WORLD
Explore how countries strengthen primary health care and move toward universal health coverage.
THINK GLOBAL.
ACT LOCAL.
DO IT NOW!
WHO
Primary Health Care
Global principles for people-centred, integrated primary health care.
Visit resource → WHOUniversal Health Coverage
Understand access, quality, financial protection and health-system equity.
Visit resource → WHOIntegrated People-Centred Care
Explore coordination, participation, quality and people-centred health services.
Visit resource → CANADACanada's Health Care System
Explore Government of Canada information about Canada's health-care system.
Visit resource →World Health Organization. Primary health care.
World Health Organization. Integrated people-centred health services.
World Health Organization. Universal health coverage.
World Health Organization. Integrated health services and primary-care service organization.
World Health Organization. Quality health services.
Government of Canada. Canada's health-care system and publicly available health-system information.
GHE educational content is designed to build health literacy and systems thinking. It does not replace individualized advice from qualified health professionals or instructions from local health authorities.