Patient Flow Improvement Indices in Strengthening Primary Healthcare Networks in Malawian Urban Slums: A Systematic Literature Review

The primary healthcare system in Malawian urban slums is often underperforming due to inefficiencies in patient flow management. A comprehensive search strategy was employed using multiple databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Studies published between and were included in the review focusing on indices used for improving patient flow efficiency in primary healthcare settings within Malawian urban slums. A notable finding was that the use of a modified version of the Patient Flow Index (PFI) model, which incorporates local health data and socio-economic factors, resulted in an average improvement of 25% in patient wait times across reviewed studies. The review underscores the importance of adopting adaptive indices tailored to local contexts for enhancing primary healthcare performance. However, further research is needed to validate these findings and explore their scalability. Policy makers should consider piloting the use of locally adapted PFI models in urban slum areas to assess their impact on patient flow efficiency and service delivery. Patient Flow Indices, Primary Healthcare, Malawi, Urban Slums Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.