Meanings and challenges of care coordination in primary health care: scoping review

Care coordination is a core attribute of Primary Health Care (PHC), yet its conceptual, methodological, and contextual approaches remain insufficiently mapped. This study aimed to synthesise international evidence on care coordination in PHC, emphasising main approaches and barriers. A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Searches were performed in July 2024 across PubMed/Medline, LILACS/BVS, Scopus, and Web of Science, including studies published between 2014 and 2024. Eligible publications addressed care coordination in PHC in different contexts worldwide. Exclusion criteria were studies restricted to specific diseases, previous reviews, unavailable full text, older than 10 years, or not centred on coordination. Screening was performed in Rayyan, yielding 26 included studies. Five thematic categories emerged: (1) management of the patient care journey within the health system; (2) coordination across hospital–primary–secondary care transitions; (3) interprofessional and intersectoral collaboration; (4) information integration and interoperability; and (5) case-management approaches for specific populations. Barriers included organisational and resource constraints, service fragmentation, technological limitations, gaps in care transitions, and challenges of professional and sociocultural engagement. Advancing institutional capacity, technological infrastructure, and the active engagement of professionals and users is essential to strengthen care coordination in PHC across different settings.