Towards evidence-informed integration of public health and primary health care : experiences from Crete

“Integrated health care” is a concept that is frequently discussed and has received significant attention internationally. In particular, the integration of public health into primary health care has received much attention over the past two decades. However, despite this, integrated health care, encompassing public health, primary health care and evidence-based practice, largely remains a neglected area in many European settings. Many aspects pertaining to the operationalization and implementation of these concepts remain unresolved, particularly in settings where primary health care is under development or where reform is underway. The aim of this article is to share the experiences of the Clinic of Social and Family Medicine (CSFM) at the University of Crete School of Medicine in this area over the past decade, in terms of insights gained through research, capacity-building efforts and practice focused on addressing major public-health issues in primary-care settings. We provide a brief overview of how data about healthcare delivery, collected from capacity-building and research initiatives, can facilitate effective planning and implementation of the primary-care reform that is currently unfolding in Greece. We believe this information shows how to best design and rapidly test evidence-based approaches for the operationalization and implementation of integrated health care, approaches that can serve to address public-health priorities, improve the health and well-being of the population and support evidence-informed policy-making, in Greece and in settings similar to Greece.