Communication Strategy as a Direction of Public Health Development at the Regional Level

Abstract

The current direction in the field of health care reform in Ukraine, such as the development of public health at the regional level, is considered. Aspects of public health reform in Ukraine are explored in the article. Peculiarities of public health development at the regional level on the example of development and implementation of the communication strategy of the Sumy Regional Council «Regional Clinical Medical Centre for Socially Dangerous Diseases» are studied. The analysis identifies some problems in this area and develops measures to improve the next steps in advocacy and public health promotion at the community level. Comprehensive measures to improve the preparation and implementation of communication strategies in public health at the regional level in Ukraine are justified. In particular, new approaches are proposed, such as improving regulatory policy procedures and developing public strategies, programs and projects for public health based on digital technologies; population research and surveys; institutionalization of the use of research evidence in health decision-making; education and enlightenment of the population, including the development for this purpose of special applications, games, health programs; promoting knowledge sharing; clustering in the field of public health, including the creation of formal integrated structures; use of social media to prevent disease and healthy living; providing access to advanced knowledge, including the use of foreign language resources; protection of intellectual property rights; ensuring the confidentiality and security of people's data; ethics of digital interaction. It is established that in general the principles for the development of public health are formed in Ukraine. The Centre for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine should be appointed the main coordinator in the process of further such development. It is recommended to strengthen the interaction of the Centre with the regions, which will allow the systematic implementation of a culture of health. At the same time, due attention should be paid to measures to prevent disease and create a favourable living environment. To this end, the financial and institutional capacity of the Centre should certainly be strengthened. In addition to health outcomes, this approach will significantly contribute to the implementation of agreements under the Association Agreement with the European Union. It is proved that with the help of public policy instruments in the field of public health, the culture of health in the cities and regions of Ukraine is formed as a multifaceted concept.