Case Report: From concept to care and knowledge translation: developing a community-oriented family health center in a resource-limited post-conflict setting in Sri Lanka
- 1Center for Digital Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- 2Department of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- 3Provincial Department of Health Service, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Abstract
Primary Health Care (PHC) oriented systems in resource-limited, post-conflict settings face compounded challenges arising from population ageing, rising non-communicable diseases, workforce constraints, and weakened community trust. In Sri Lanka's Northern Province, decades of conflict followed by economic instability and the COVID-19 pandemic further exposed limitations of fragmented, facility-centered Primary Care. This paper presents a concept-driven community case study describing the progressive development of a community-oriented Family Health Center (FHC) in Northern Sri Lanka, tracing its evolution from a small FHC to a nationally recognized and internationally connected Primary Care, education and research hub. The model integrates Family Medicine, Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) within a single operational framework. Family Medicine provides the clinical and ethical foundation, COPC introduces defined population responsibility with embedded Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI), while PAR functions as a system-learning engine enabling continuous adaptation and co-creation of knowledge. Locally recruited Community Health Workers (CHWs) operate these principles by linking households, services and research. The FHC delivers comprehensive Primary Care services and supports multilevel education, continuous professional development and capacity building, while functioning as a platform for global collaboration, including a 10,000-participant community cohort supported through digital health systems and international partnerships such as the NIHR DIGIPATHS program. This experience demonstrates how locally grounded PHC-oriented system components can be integrated into health systems and support the transformation in post-conflict settings can evolve into sustainable centers of excellence and trusted global implementation hubs, offering transferable lessons for strengthening PHC-oriented system in comparable contexts.
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BibTeX
@article{vethanayagam2026case,
title = {{Case Report: From concept to care and knowledge translation: developing a community-oriented family health center in a resource-limited post-conflict setting in Sri Lanka}},
author = {Antony Sheron Vethanayagam and Kumaran Subaschandren and Kaarunnya Parthipan and Sakana Kannathasan and Saman Pathirana},
journal = {Frontiers in Medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fmed.2026.1895556},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2026.1895556},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Case Report: From concept to care and knowledge translation: developing a community-oriented family health center in a resource-limited post-conflict setting in Sri Lanka
AU - Antony Sheron Vethanayagam
AU - Kumaran Subaschandren
AU - Kaarunnya Parthipan
AU - Sakana Kannathasan
AU - Saman Pathirana
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Frontiers in Medicine
DO - 10.3389/fmed.2026.1895556
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2026.1895556
AB - Primary Health Care (PHC) oriented systems in resource-limited, post-conflict settings face compounded challenges arising from population ageing, rising non-communicable diseases, workforce constraints, and weakened community trust. In Sri Lanka's Northern Province, decades of conflict followed by economic instability and the COVID-19 pandemic further exposed limitations of fragmented, facility-centered Primary Care. This paper presents a concept-driven community case study describing the progressive development of a community-oriented Family Health Center (FHC) in Northern Sri Lanka, tracing its evolution from a small FHC to a nationally recognized and internationally connected Primary Care, education and research hub. The model integrates Family Medicine, Community-Oriented Primary Care (COPC) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) within a single operational framework. Family Medicine provides the clinical and ethical foundation, COPC introduces defined population responsibility with embedded Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) and Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI), while PAR functions as a system-learning engine enabling continuous adaptation and co-creation of knowledge. Locally recruited Community Health Workers (CHWs) operate these principles by linking households, services and research. The FHC delivers comprehensive Primary Care services and supports multilevel education, continuous professional development and capacity building, while functioning as a platform for global collaboration, including a 10,000-participant community cohort supported through digital health systems and international partnerships such as the NIHR DIGIPATHS program. This experience demonstrates how locally grounded PHC-oriented system components can be integrated into health systems and support the transformation in post-conflict settings can evolve into sustainable centers of excellence and trusted global implementation hubs, offering transferable lessons for strengthening PHC-oriented system in comparable contexts.
SN - 2296-858X
ER -