| The early health centres of the 1900's were meant to solve special out-of-hospital health problems of the poor, chiefly infectious disease, infant malnutrition, and infant feeding. The organizational ideas of centres, district location, community participation, bureaucratic organization, and centralization of community health and social services were derived from democratic, religious, and industrial ideas common to the era of progressive reform. In actual practice some of the organizational goals were contradictory. For example, although a goal such as community participation was important to bring services close to people, simultaneous pressures for efficiency in bureaucratic organization often conflicted. The new health centres, whether traditional or organized as private group practice, have a different and more complex set of health problems requiring social rehabilitation through personal health services. Although new definitions are being applied to the older organizational ideas, contradictions in dealing with modern problems are also being encountered. Seventeen references are listed. (Journal abstract.) |