The Health Post Project: An Approach to Improve Health Care Delivery at the Grass-Roots in Rural Korea

ABSTRACT

The Health Post Project in Gang Wha Gun is part of the Yonsei University Medical College's Community Health Teaching Project. Two townships, Son Won Myun and Nae Ga Myun, with a total population of 14,000 are being guided through a planned change process in order to raise health consciousness in the community based education of medical and other health manpower through demonstration of relevant community health principles and provision of entry points for applied teaching. The key to community access is provided through village based Family Health Workers (FHW) who, according to carefully designed selection procedures, functions, service package, training and implementation plan now serve as semi-independent village health representatives. The FHW is supervised by the government employed township health workers who in turn received re-orientation as multi-purpose workers. Their functions were re-designed according to project needs. Thus the government health services in the target area have been extended to the household level through FHW activities in MCH, TB care and Family Planning. The Health Post Project provides a statistically controlled environment with a base line survey and constantly incoming data. It also provides communication channels for reciprocal understanding of the health issues and problems between traditional villagers and city educated faculty and students. Moreover, the Health Post Project provides motivation for the communities to solve their health problems with existing resources to the highest degree possible. Finally, the development of grass-root level services in cooperation with the communities has potential for long term benefits. These include relevant training of health manpower regarding principles and practice of rural community health. It also includes the study and development of health manpower and service packages, streamlining of administrative and evaluation procedures, and information urgently needed for health planning.