Augmenting primary care through family medicine-orientation of community health officers in India.

Well-trained health workers are vital to achieve global goals of universal access to healthcare services and provide primary care to remote communities. The primary care workforce includes non-physician health workers (NPHWs) who function to increase availability, trust, reach, and assurance to local communities. NPHWs such as mid-level health providers or community health officers have been inducted across high- and low-income countries to overcome the geographic disparity in physician availability and ensure quality of primary care. Training mid-level health providers and community health officers in principles of family medicine have the potential to empower workforce in effectively providing family based care. This integrative review collates recent evidence on the role of non-physician health workers in improving access to primary healthcare services and highlights the need, appropriateness, and relevance of family medicine-orientation to manage family oriented care and holistic management of healthcare needs of the community.