Primary care refers to the efforts to prevent new psychological problems from occurring. These efforts include programs aimed at both counteracting risk factors and strengthening protective factors — factors that prevent mental disorders. Most programs of primary prevention emphasize on the following goals:

Encouraging secure attachments and reducing family violence: Secure attachments to parents or other caregivers play a crucial role in children’s healthy development.

Teaching effective problem-solving skills: Skills that help people get along with others and regulate their own behavior.

Changing environments: Making environments more supportive in many different ways.

Enhancing Stress coping skills: Skills that help people deal with the major stressors they encounter in their lives.

How many affected persons attend primary care? An overview of data:

It is estimated that about 230 per thousand of the adult population affected by a psychiatric disorder attend primary care each year. According to a study it was estimated that every year about 10% of adults registered with a general practitioner consult for a psychiatric condition and 5% with a disorder that is both psychiatric as well as physical.

According to Strathdee and Jenkins the frequency of various mental disorders in primary care varies from community to community. However, they established the following figures per 2000 adults that went to a practitioner complaining of any illness:

Depression – 60 – 100

Anxiety – 70-80

Situational reactions- 50 -60

Schizophrenia- 2-4

Affective Psychosis- 6-7

Alcohol or drug dependence- 4-5

Among children between the age group of 7-12 years attending primary care almost a quarter has a psychiatric disorder, divided equally into emotional conduct and mixed conduct and emotional disorders. About one-third of adolescents with psychiatric disorders complain of physical symptoms that do not have any medical basis.