Behind the terms ‘primary care’ and ‘salutogenesis’ are visions, values, and structures. Primary care, understood as
the first contact point to medical care, operates at the interface between the social and health systems, the patient with his or her family and professional environment, and the local population. Primary (health) care is envisioned to contribute to universal health coverage and equality. Salutogenesis describes an orientation towards health, a model, and the construct ‘sense of coherence’. This chapter is dedicated to the application of salutogenesis in primary care. Primary care services are a complex of strongly interrelated professional practice, research, and supporting policy. Therefore, applying salutogenesis in primary care comprehensively should include introducing salutogenesis in all these fields simultaneously (Pelikan, 2017).
This chapter examines how salutogenesis is addressed and
discussed in policy, research, and practice. Moreover, it discusses the application of salutogenesis as a health orientation, a model, and a construct ‘sense of coherence‘ in primary care. In doing so, we contribute to applying salutogenesis in primary care and provide an outlook on further research needs. In the first step, we try to make comprehensible what characterizes primary care, salutogenesis, and finally, the meaningfulness of salutogenic primary care. Subsequently, the chapter examines how salutogenesis is addressed and ‘managed’ in policy, research, and practice. Moreover, it discusses
the application of salutogenesis as a health orientation,
model, and sense of coherence in primary care.