| Summary: | The Practical Approach to Lung Health (PAL) is one of the strategies intended to overcome the challenge posed by weak health systems. This initiative is aimed at managing respiratory patients in primary health care settings while expanding TB detection and good-quality TB services. PAL focuses on the most prevalent respiratory diseases at first-level health facilities - pneumonia, acute bronchitis and other acute respiratory infections, TB, and chronic respiratory conditions including chronic bronchitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. This manual was developed by WHO to assist country institutions - health and other government ministries, social security agencies, nongovernmental organizations - that want to introduce the PAL strategy into case-management practices in primary health care. It describes a phased process of promotion, technical guideline development and adaptation, pilot testing, managerial planning and implementation. The standards and recommendations represent a synthesis of the observations and experience gathered in primary health care settings in 10 countries in all regions of the world in the past six years. The manual provides practical guidance to health managers whose efforts are crucial to the achievement of global TB control goals and national targets for case- management of respiratory conditions. It will also be helpful for health care providers at both first-level health care facilities and the first referral level
|
|---|