The legal practice of intersectoral interaction for prevention of noncommunicable diseases in students

Abstract

Introduction. Children’s preventive healthcare legislation in noncommunicable diseases strictly determines departments’ interaction: there is a distinction in responsibilities, functions, and work standards for public health services and educational institutions. However, it is hard to distinguish which department or institution is responsible for preventive healthcare implementation in practice. This topic shows a lack of understanding of how to segregate responsibilities, establish effective communication channels, and create audit standards for preventing noncommunicable diseases and health literacy. Our aim was to analyze the legal, practical, and social aspects of preventive healthcare. Materials and methods. We studied correspondences in legal regulations and real-life healthcare activities, examined morbidity cases and affecting factors, and evaluated parental attitudes towards Russia’s preventive healthcare system. We surveyed national, sectoral, and regional statutory regulations. Regarding current laws, we analyzed children physical examination data (form № 030-ПО/о-12 (2017), form № 030-ПО/о-17 (2018)). We also questioned parents about children’s preventive healthcare and healthy lifestyle (1320 participants). All empirical data was collected in the 2017-2018 years in Moscow. Results. As a result, inconsistencies in the legal regulations and practical realization of preventive healthcare activities have been found. The critical problem is that there were no adequate implementation mechanisms, no standard criteria, and control methods for specific healthcare events. There was a difference in statutory healthcare activities, treatment as it is, and parental expectations (the most noticeable discrepancies were in the healthcare sphere): there is a noticeable growth of children morbidity; parents mostly feel themselves dissatisfied with the healthcare system. Conclusion. It is vital to develop control and implementation mechanisms of national legal regulations, to adapt them in regional preventive healthcare programs, considering region peculiarities.