Developing a framework for Community Participation in primary health care in district health system

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Cimmunity participation in the planning, delivery and evaluation of health services as one of the principles of primary health care was introduced by the World Health Organization at the Almaty Conference in 1978. Objective: The aim of this study was to design a framework for social participation in primary health care in district health system. Material and Methods: The present study was a quantitative-qualitative study. First, with a review study, the levels of participation in the health system, areas of participation, strategies to improve participation, participation challenges and its consequences in the world were extracted. Then (semi-structured) interviews were used to identify the expectations and experiences of people and officials in the field of social participation in health programs. Finally, using the results of the previous steps, the initial framework was designed and its validity was evaluated through the Delphi method. Results: The results of reviewing the existing articles were extracted as a conceptual model in the form of patterns used, areas of participation, strategies to strengthen participation, challenges and barriers to participation and results and consequences.No documents from the history and experiences of social participation were found in Divandere city and the results of qualitative analysis were classified into 30 categories, 95 main themes and 237 sub-themes.Finally, according to the results of the previous stages, the framework of social participation was designed and validated in three main areas, which are: the context and inputs of people's participation, the process of people's participation and the consequences of people's participation. Conclusion: The framework designed in this study can be used as a guide for policy makers and national and local officials.