Introducing the Urban Community Health Center (UCHC) as a nascent local model: Will it be a linchpin in the health sector reform in Iran?

Mohammad Hadi Imanieh,Abdulrasool Hemmati,Ahmad Kalateh Sadati,Mohsen Moghadami

doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2015.74

Abstract

Over the past three decades, the Iranian health system has undergone a wide range of reforms. This period has been associated with changes that have helped improve Iran’s health system. The most visible breakthrough has been the establishment and improvement of Primary Health Care (PHC) with an emphasis on rural regions (i.e. rural health centers and rural Health Houses), which represented a condition highlighting the potentials of Behvarz (i.e. community health worker) in PHC. The PHC model is composed of eight elements including: health education, vaccination, mother and child care, nutrition, environmental health, control of endemic and common diseases, epidemic control, and essential drugs. This period has led to remarkable achievements in various areas from prevention to treatment (1,2).

Highlights

Dear Editor, Over the past three decades, the Iranian health system has undergone a wide range of reforms
The most visible breakthrough has been the establishment and improvement of Primary Health Care (PHC) with an emphasis on rural regions, which represented a condition highlighting the potentials of Behvarz in PHC
Some of the most important challenges include the increase in the rate of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) [3], aging [4], mental health [5], and AIDS [6]

Summary

Introduction

These changes have led many policy-makers to focus attention on structural reforms in the health system because goal-driven reforms can effectively help control part of these problems. Following certain modifications introduced to the structure of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education after the 11th Iranian presidential elections, the reform of the health sector was seriously taken into account. Along with reforms in treatment and hospital sections, one of the significant issues was to improve the primary care and enhance the PHC system.

Results

Conclusion