Teaching of primary health care in practice: a model using local health centres in undergraduate medical education

Summary. In Finland primary health care has a long historical background. The local communities, the state and the church have at various times and places been responsible for primary health care during the last few centuries. In 1972, a major reform took place when a new Primary Health Care Act came into force. In the same year two new medical faculties, at Kuopio and Tampere Universities, began to educate undergraduate medical students. In both of these new medical schools special attention was focused on the teaching of primary health care.