United in Partnership: Academic Collaborations for Primary Health Care Transformation

Primary health care (PHC) is globally recognized as the roadmap to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 on health and well-being and SDG 17 on partnerships. Within this vision, academic collaborations play a vital role in building resilient PHC systems by advancing workforce education, informing policy, and fostering innovation across diverse contexts. The World Health Organization defines PHC as comprising three interrelated components: integrated health services across the life course (delivered through both primary care and essential public health functions), multi-sectoral policy and action on the determinants of health, and empowered people and communities who shape and hold health systems accountable. Within this framework, primary care serves as the backbone of service delivery, where Barbara Starfield’s principles—first-contact access, continuity, comprehensiveness, and coordination—remain essential to person-centered, high-quality care.

This collection, "United in Partnership: Academic Collaborations for Primary Health Care Transformation", seeks to highlight how academic partnerships are advancing PHC transformation through education, systems strengthening, and community engagement. By showcasing the contributions of North–South and South–South collaborations, the collection aims to stimulate discussion, share innovations, and inspire new academic linkages. By uniting scholarship, education, and practice, the goal of this collection is to demonstrate how academic collaborations strengthen both the primary care core and the broader PHC framework, advancing UHC, the SDGs and the vision of health for all.

This collection emphasizes the role of academic partnerships in strengthening the PHC workforce through curriculum design, faculty development, continuing professional education, interprofessional learning, and innovations in pedagogy and practice. At the same time, education cannot be separated from the systems in which professionals work or the communities they serve. We therefore welcome manuscripts authored by academic collaborations (with practice, policy, and community partners as co-authors) that address local, regional, or global contexts.

We invite original research, reviews, case studies, policy briefs, perspectives, and reflective pieces. Potential areas of interest include:

• North–South and South–South collaborations advancing PHC education, workforce development, and community-engaged training;

• Equity-focused educational strategies preparing professionals to serve underserved populations;

• Health systems innovations, including governance, integration, sustainable financing, and learning systems;

• Community-engaged approaches that center people in PHC transformation;

• Innovations in service and training models (e.g., digital platforms, simulation, task-shifting, community-based education);

• Evidence of workforce or population health impact;

• Policy and governance contributions shaping PHC education systems and aligning with national priorities;

• Cross-country learning and networks accelerating progress toward UHC and the SDGs.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: healthcare professions education, community engagement, primary health care, primary care, universal health coverage, academic collaboration, north-south partnerships, south-south partnerships, health systems

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.