Iranian Journal of

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The current challenge in health services research is disability to present comprehensive and effective intervention plans for community health promotion. There are numerous reasons in this regard, some of which can be overcome through performance-based participatory research methods. The Population Research Center (PRC) in Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) provides the necessary ground: 1) to innovate original methods in participatory research that are compatible with our native culture, and 2) to make the results of the population research applicable to the whole society through target-based executive steps. The steps to implement health promotion (known as Planned Approach To Community Health) include: acquirement of people’s participation, health needs assessment, priority setting for health problems, designing health interventions, and evaluation of the activities. Those parts of this approach, which are mainly concerned with needs assessment in the area of endocrinology and the causal factors of related diseases, have been accomplished. The next step in this field is to plan appropriate intervention projects and to put them into practice through the principles of community participation and community empowerment.

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Introduction: The human being is part of its surrounding socio-economic framework. He is affected by the environment and actively affects it. Ignoring the socio-economic dimensions of health leads to the failure of health promotion programs and widens the inequity in the health status of different groups in the society. The aim of this study is to identify the socio-economic and demographic status of the inhabitants in 17th zone of Tehran Methods: A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used in this study. A crosssectional descriptive study was carried out in population research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) with a sample containing 1121 households. They were chosen by random cluster sampling. Data was gathered using the World Health Survey questionnaire of WHO. Construct validity, and test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the questionnaires were already approved. The SEAGA tools, which are classified as Rapid Appraisal (RA) methods were used to complete the community profile .Techniques such as direct observation, Semi-structured interview with key informants, field notes, social map, and trend line were devised to identify community profile. The method of triangulation was used to validate the data. Results: Data analysis showed means of age was 27/9 years. The average size of the household was 4.23. 47.5% of the respondents were unmarried. The Majority of participants (30/7%) have been qualified at high school level. The dominant ethnic group was Azari (57/8%). All of them were Moslems. The majority are self-employed (11/9%). The qualitative studies showed that district one is the economic core of the area. Economical heterogeneity in three districts of 17th zone was evident. Social problems were reported as unemployment, drug abuse, violence and aggressive behavior and so on. Conclusion: The variety of socio-economic problems among inhabitants in 17th zone of Tehran represents this area as a problematic community. Capacity building and providing proper background for community participation in solving its own health problems can be an effective approach towards sustainable development. Total reliance on the health sector to solve the numerous problems of this area will not be successful as inter-sectoral collaboration and community participation are mandatory requirements of this process

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Introduction: The success of a health system depends on the accessibility and the quality of health services it provides. One major indicator of service quality is peoples satisfaction from the service. In this article, healthcare availability and satisfaction of people in 17th zone of Tehran is investigated.
Methods: Population Research Center has performed a survey in 17th zone of Tehran to investigate people s access to health services and healthcare costs. This face- to-face survey is based on the standard questionnaire of World Health Survey. 1121 households were chosen through cluster sampling. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire are confirmed in previous studies.
Results: The average size of the households is 4.23 and its ratio to the number of rooms in the households is 1.98. Expenses per capita and the insurance coverage and quality have no significant difference in large and small households. The share of health expenditures is significantly smaller in households with a female guardian than those with male guardians. People s overall satisfaction from health services is mediocre, little or very little in 62% of the cases.
Conclusion: Although the level of inequity in coverage and quality of health services is small over the area, the overall health care quality is not enough for customer s satisfaction. Initiatives to improve the quality of health services seem mandatory.

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Responsiveness formally is defined as "the ability of health system to meet the population's legitimate expectations regarding their interaction with the health system, apart from expectations for improvement in health or wealth" and the population legitimate expectations have been defined in terms of international human rights norms and professional ethics. World Health Organization has considered responsiveness as one of health system goals and a part of system performance assessment. This organization has developed a frame work for responsiveness measuring, according to which the concept of responsiveness has been operationalised in eight domains including: 1)respect for dignity , 2)autonomy, 3)confidentiality, 4)prompt attention, 5)quality of basic amenities , 6)communication , 7)access to social support network and 8)choice of health care providers. There is merit in improving responsiveness even if the other intrinsic goals are not affected. Responsiveness information can be used by policy makers for improving well being of people and their satisfaction.