ISSN ONLINE: 2558-815X
ISSN PRINT: 1584-9244
ISSN-L: 1584-9244

Development of public health in Georgia: Challenges and policy issues

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Introduction. The reorganisation of healthcare system in Georgia was based on the development of public health, aiming at activating the preventive medicine and operating efficient tools of epidemiological surveillance.
The objective of the study was to evaluate the attitudes and values of public health reform in Georgia.
Materials and methods. We performed a documentary analysis, which included official documents and journal publications.
Results. Georgia was the only country (except the Baltic states) to abandon the Soviet system of Sanitary-Epidemiological Service, completely reorganize it and establish a new public health infrastructure. The reorganization of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service implied the separation of supervisory (sanitary control) and executive functions, typical of the Soviet system. As a result, the Public Health Department and the Department for Sanitary Supervision and Hygienic Regulation were established. In terms of decentralization, the funds out of four elements of the healthcare system (financing, Policy Development, Standard Definition, Management, and Administration) were distributed at central, regional, and municipal levels.
Conclusions. In a globalized world, the public health challenges go beyond national borders and interests, having huge global political and economic consequences. Therefore, modern public healthcare is reviewed in a global context and requires international regulations, transnational actions, and solutions based on coordinated cooperation among different countries of the world.
Keywords: public health, healthcare reforms, sanitary-epidemiological service, preventive medicine.

Full text sources https://doi.org/10.31688/ABMU.2022.57.2.07
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Address for correspondence:
Tengiz VERULAVA
Medicine and Healthcare Management School, Caucasus University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Email: tverulava@cu.edu.ge

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Verulava T, Jorbenadze A. Development of public health in Georgia: challenges and policy issues. Arch Balk Med Union. 2022;57(2):179-184. https://doi.org/10.31688/ABMU.2022.57.2.07