COMMUNITY HEALTH – DEVELOPMENT AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH
STRATEGIES
Contact:
Prof.Dr. Vesna Bjegovic, MD, MSc, PhD
Belgrade University
School of Medicine, Institute of Social Medicine
Dr. Subotica 15
11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro
Tel: +381 11 643 830
Fax: +381 11 659 533
Email: bjegov@EUnet.yu
Belgrade
2003
Project Proposal: Community Health – Development and Implementation of Local Public Health Strategies
1
Background
During the last ten years the health infrastructure both for curative and preventive services has been gradually deteriorated in Serbia. Prevention of diseases, though historically considered as the flagship of the national health system, remains today far behind the curative medicine in terms of resource allocations to health care. The network of the Institutes of Public Health (IPH) is the main actor in public health development in the country. Today, however the network, which was supposed to be the pillar of a modern health, care system, is in the situation where the roles and tasks of its IPH remain unclear (Scheme 1).
Scheme 1
Organizational structure of
Public Health in Serbia
Republic
Parliament
Republic
Government
National Health
Council
Health Insurance
Fund
National expert group for
Public Health
Policy and finance Finance
Ministry of
Health
Republic Institute of Public Health
Institutes of Public Health
Novi Sad, Niš, Kragujevac,
Regional Institutes of Public Health
Primary Health
Care Centres
Partners in community
NGO
Schools
Elderly home
.......
Polivalent patronage General practicioner Municipality service H.E.S.
Institutes for health protection of students
Public Health is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting mental and physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts. Public Health may be considered as the structures and