Assessing the core functions of primary care in the Abomey-Calavi – So-Ava health district in Benin: A cross-sectional study

Background: Primary care quality in Benin was assessed using various tools, but without a focus on the core functions. Aim: To assess the core functions of primary care in the health district Abomey-Calavi – So-Ava. Setting: The study was conducted in primary care facilities in the Abomey-Calavi – So-Ava health district, Benin. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional survey that used the validated primary care assessment tool (PCAT) for sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected from 399 randomly selected patients across 27 health facilities using the PCAT via the REDCap mobile application. Univariate and bivariate statistical analyses were conducted using R software. Results: Affiliation to the facilities was high among 47.1% of users. Users globally rated the health district’s primary care performance as average. Health system coordination was scored as poor. First-contact access, first-contact utilisation, comprehensiveness, continuity of care, and coordination – information system were scored as average. Only the person-centred care domain was scored as good. Those who rated their health as good or excellent tended to give higher scores. Also, users of private facilities reported slightly higher score than users of public facilities. Conclusion: The performance of primary care was globally scored as average. This PCAT looks useful for assessing the core functions of primary care and provided novel information on performance. Contribution: This study demonstrates how the sub-Saharan African version of the PCAT can be used to generate context-specific evidence on the performance of core primary care functions at district level.