Evaluation of the process of the national self-care program in the social field in the rural areas of Bukan city

Abstract

Background: Today, community participation is an essential part of community health and development programs. Despite useful and effective studies on individual and organizational self-care, no study has been conducted in the field of social self-care. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the process of the national self-care program in the social field in rural areas of Buchan city. Methods: This descriptive study was performed in 64 health houses under the supervision of 9 comprehensive health centers and district health centers of Buchan city. The sampling method was census so that the required information was extracted from all health houses in Buchan in the last 5 years (2015-2016). To collect the data, a checklist was used which was designed by the research team based on goals and policies of the National Social Self-Care Program of the Ministry of Health. Then a specialized evaluation team (epidemiologist, health promotion specialist, dean of program managers, program executives, and employees.) reviewed the information and completed the checklist. Results: The collected data showed that the process of the national program of social self-care was well implemented in rural areas of Buchan city. Sufficiency of executive resources and managerial and financial resources for planning and implementation of national program of social self-care in rural areas of Buchan, accuracy assessment and timing of program implementation, planning, implementation and evaluation of the program, compliance of executive instructions with general and specific objectives, compliance of executive instructions with policies and strategies, accuracy of target population selection included, number of participatory action plan workshops for Rural Islamic Councils Members since the beginning of the program and number of external evaluations of councils’ performance from the beginning of the program were estimated optimal (50% and more). But the forecast (0%) and allocation of financial resources (2%) for planning and implementation of the program and also in the membership of councils in the social self-care system (national self-care portal) to receive educational packages (4.7%) were not optimal (50% and more). Conclusion: The process of the national program of social self-care is well implemented in most relevant items in the rural areas of Buchan County. Therefore, health researchers, professionals and policy makers should continue community activities related to social self-care, especially in rural areas, in order to invest in attracting the cooperation of members of Islamic councils, as an accelerator and facilitator in improving social participation and community quality of life and health, to design and implement the plannings and policies of future requirements.