Australian Community Health and Primary Health Care Policies from 1970s to 2020s: A Policy Analysis of Changing Interpretations
Date
2026
Authors
van Eyk, H.
Freeman, T.
Musolino, C.
Fry, D.
McDougall, C.
McBride, T.
Lewis, V.
Baum, F.
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Journal article
Citation
International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services, 2026; 1-14
Statement of Responsibility
Helen van Eyk, Toby Freeman, Connie Musolino, Denise Fry, Colin McDougall, Tony McBride, Virginia Lewis, and Fran Baum
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Abstract
Community health and primary health care (PHC) concepts are contested globally. We analysed 122 Australian federal and state government policy documents relating to women’s, Aboriginal community controlled, generalist and workers’ community health services from the 1970s to 2022 using institutional theory to understand how ideas and interests had shaped community health and PHC in Australia. We found an initial flourishing of diverse ideas was contested and constrained over time to reflect a more biomedical, general practice-centric approach to PHC. This was influenced by federal government decisions to prioritise general practice, and state governments’ emphasis on reducing hospital costs. This reflects the power of established institutions and biomedical framings that have constrained debate over what is possible and what practices can be considered. From the content of the policies we reviewed, community health ideas and a comprehensive vision of PHC have persisted in Aboriginal community controlled health services, in women’s health policy, and in Victorian community health services. Since pursuing comprehensive PHC remains a vital global goal to improve population health and health equity, our examination of policy history can shed light on how ideas and interests have shaped community health and PHC, and how future policies could be strengthened.
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© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).