Integration between public health and primary care is rising on the health policy agenda but the terms
and concepts involved can be confusing. This article reviews the relevant literature and presents a new
framework to help policymakers think through what they are aiming to achieve and why. We unpack
different degrees and types of integration and show how they fit together. We argue that the merger
of public health and primary care into a single entity with one aim, budget, and one multidisciplinary
team isn’t necessarily the desired end-point for most health systems. Seamless collaboration will likely
improve patient and health system outcomes, save resources, and improve population outcomes.
We recommend that efforts to foster better collaboration should take an activity-based approach,
promoting alignment of teams, training, budgets, values, and culture around specific tasks, and in
proportion to need.