Public Participation Must Be Taken Seriously from the Outset of Health Programs

The Health Minister said that identifying people deprived of essential services, improving health literacy, and linking the capacity of the health and treatment network with the Basij can help improve public health.

The Minister of Health said: Identifying people deprived of essential services, promoting health literacy and connecting the capacity of the health and treatment network with Mobilization can help improve the health of the society.

According to Mehr reporter, Mohammad Reza Zafarkandi at the national health community event; People of Yar and Masjid Mokhor attended and emphasized the necessity of using social capacities in the health system and stated: In all health system programs, the use of social capacities and people's participation should be prioritized from the very beginning of designing the programs. This issue is one of the keywords that we should pay attention to from the beginning.

He stated that extensive social capacity is one of the biggest assets of the health system, and added: This capacity exists in neighborhoods, villages, schools, universities, mosques, non-governmental organizations and groups like Basij. No national health program, even if it is scientifically and technically carefully designed, cannot achieve all its goals without the people's support and participation.

The Minister of Health considered the identification of people who are deprived of essential health services as one of the other important priorities and said: We must identify the elderly who live alone, patients with blood pressure who have stopped taking their medicines due to economic problems, and pregnant mothers who are deprived of regular care due to the distance. Attention should also be paid to people who do not receive proper health services due to difficult living conditions.

Emphasizing the importance of actively referring to these groups, Zafarkandi continued: Identifying and following up on the condition of these people is an important and necessary action in the field of health and can provide the basis for closer communication between the health system and the people.

He listed the promotion of health literacy as one of the other basic axes of this field and clarified: We must show people that we are concerned about their health. Education about the early symptoms of diseases such as cancer, primary care, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and wound control, in addition to increasing people's awareness, helps to strengthen their relationship with the health system.

Referring to the role of education in the early diagnosis of diseases, the Minister of Health added: The more people are familiar with the early symptoms of diseases and the necessary care measures, the more the possibility of early diagnosis and providing timely services will increase. In this way, while promoting health literacy, it is possible to reduce some of the health problems.

Zafar Qandi continued to emphasize the necessity of linking existing capacities in the country and said: We have two extensive networks at our disposal, which can create significant added value for people's health by connecting them; First, the country's comprehensive health and treatment network and second, Basij's extensive network.

Referring to the extent of the country's health and treatment network, he noted: Iran's health and treatment network has a wide capacity, and in discussions with the ministers of different countries, the extent and comprehensiveness of this network is taken into consideration, and the field of experience exchange and the use of this model is raised.

In the end, the Minister of Health emphasized: Combining the capacity of the health and treatment network with Basij's extensive network can provide the basis for the implementation of more effective and extensive measures to improve people's health.