SynthesisBMC health services research2010
The breadth of primary care: a systematic literature review of its core dimensions.
Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 246 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
246 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Uptake of patient enrolment in primary care and associated factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Performance measurement systems in primary health care: a systematic literature review.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Health outcomes in primary care: a 20-year evidence map of randomized controlled trials.Family practice · 2023Pooled it
- Conjoint analyses of patients' preferences for primary care: a systematic review.BMC primary care · 2022Pooled it
- Narrative synthesis systematic review of Pakistani women's health outcomes from primary care interventions.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Burnout among general practitioners, a systematic quantitative review of the literature on determinants of burnout and their ecological value.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Multicomponent interventions for enhancing primary care: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2021Pooled it
- Primary health care quality indicators: An umbrella review.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Frequent attenders in late life in primary care: a systematic review of European studies.BMC family practice · 2017Pooled it
- Primary care efficiency measurement using data envelopment analysis: a systematic review.Journal of medical systems · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Identifying Avoidable Emergency Department Visits and the Potential Role of Community Health Centers in Northern Italy: A Retrospective Observational Study.Health care science · 2026Article
- Which aspects of continuity of care in primary care are associated with better self-rated health? A cross-sectional study among older adults in Berlin.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Cardiometabolic risk profile and associated factors among adults with type 2 diabetes in a primary health care clinics in North Central Nigeria.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2026Article
- Trends in Potentially Avoidable Hospitalisations Among People With Diabetes in Ireland; 2015-2024.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Continuity of Care in General Practice in Australia: A Whole-Of-Population Serial Cross-Sectional Study.The Medical journal of Australia · 2026Article
- Population expectations of primary care quality in 18 countries: a cross-sectional analysis of data from the People's Voice Survey.The Lancet. Primary care · 2026Article
- Primary care education in Korean medical and nursing schools: current status, perceptions, and educational needs.Korean journal of medical education · 2026Article
- Reciprocal innovation to improve access to primary healthcare in Belgium: adaptation and development of a community health worker intervention.BMC health services research · 2026Article
186 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEven though there is general agreement that primary care is the linchpin of effective health care delivery, to date no efforts have been made to systematically review the scientific evidence supporting this supposition. The aim of this study was to examine the breadth of primary care by identifying its core dimensions and to assess the evidence for their interrelations and their relevance to outcomes at (primary) health system level.
methodsA systematic review of the primary care literature was carried out, restricted to English language journals reporting original research or systematic reviews. Studies published between 2003 and July 2008 were searched in MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, King's Fund Database, IDEAS Database, and EconLit.
resultsEighty-five studies were identified. This review was able to provide insight in the complexity of primary care as a multidimensional system, by identifying ten core dimensions that constitute a primary care system. The structure of a primary care system consists of three dimensions: 1. governance; 2. economic conditions; and 3. workforce development. The primary care process is determined by four dimensions: 4. access; 5. continuity of care; 6. coordination of care; and 7. comprehensiveness of care. The outcome of a primary care system includes three dimensions: 8. quality of care; 9. efficiency care; and 10. equity in health. There is a considerable evidence base showing that primary care contributes through its dimensions to overall health system performance and health.
conclusionsA primary care system can be defined and approached as a multidimensional system contributing to overall health system performance and health.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.