Good Essay On Country Portfolio-Turkey

The rapid demographic, economic, social and epidemiological development in Turkey during the past four decades has led to an increase in the lifespan and expectancy of individuals. Although there is a decline in the burden of disease in Turkey, cardiovascular diseases occupy the first rank, followed by neuro-psychiatric diseases, injuries and perinatal causes . The burden of disease is higher in males when compared to the females with 52.5 percent and 47.5 percent respectively. Other leading causes of burden of disease in Turkey include Congenital Anomalies, Osteoarthritis, Road Traffic Accidents and anemia. The risk factors associated with the burden of disease are water and sanitation, use of alcohol and tobacco, physical inactivity, low intake of fruits and vegetables, obesity and high blood pressure. The prevention of tobacco consumption in Turkey would result in a total decline of 5 percent of the deaths.
The major part of burden of disease in Turkey is visible among the individuals belonging to the age group of 30-44 years in female and 45-59 years in males. The priority of health issues in Turkey includes the prevention of vascular diseases and other disorders, such as diabetes. Other diseases that constitute the list of priority issues include communicable diseases, maternal health and mortality of infants. Considering the age structure of Turkey population, burden of disease and health needs of the citizens, chronic diseases also constitute the list of priority health issues . A few other issues that have gained priority in the recent years are hypertension and malnutrition. The government categorizes these disorders keeping in mind the changing lifestyles and habits of the citizens of Turkey. With regards to mental health, Turkey prioritizes the disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety as major health issues, which are highly prevalent in the country.
Turkey employs the Health Transformation Programme as a measure to underpin the progress of health in Turkey. The immediate priorities of the country include the improvement of maternal health as well as infant health and the establishment of primary care led by family practitioners. The country is taking necessary steps to strengthen the Ministry of Health in order to address the challenges rising from the prevalence of long term health issues and inequalities of health care . In order to meet the demands of the rising population, the government of Turkey has been creating integrated health system and extending the scope of preventive medicine. One of the major interventions of Turkey is the ban on smoking in public places. Other interventions include treatments and activities directed towards reducing blood pressure by curbing the intake of salt and keeping the Turkish population aware of the hazardous diseases, such as AIDS and many others.
Turkey has been investing huge money for the management of risks associated with cardiovascular diseases. The country has allocated a portion of its health care spending for vaccines, medicines and pharmaceutical products to meet the health needs of its citizens. Other interventions include initiatives towards research and development affording the early access of the patients to innovative and effective treatments. Turkey has also implemented various strategies in overcoming the shortage of healthcare workers, such as physicians, nurses and specialist doctors. Other strategies include the expansion of the role of pharmacists to improve the productivity of the infrastructure of the existing health care facilities. The strategies and interventions were able to reduce the burden of disease associated with maternal and child health as well as infectious disorders in addition to chronic diseases to a great extent in the recent years .
Turkey is one of the active collaborators among the seven countries, which are a part of the Global Burden of Disease. Global collaboration is important for Turkey as health disorders know no borders. The country has launched unique collaboration efforts with certain health experts in the United Kingdom for exploring the changes in the health of the population over time and comparing the overall health performance of Turkey with other countries, which spend a similar amount for health care . The new collaboration of Turkey with IHME enables the development of burden of disease estimates across the country. The widening network of collaborators promises that the future of health care in Turkey would improve to a great extent. Turkey needs to combat the chronic as well as infectious diseases at a domestic as well as international level.
A step towards collaborative efforts to address the disease of burden in Turkey is building partnerships between researchers and communities across various income levels. The health system of Turkey has recently collaborated with Nigeria on the issue of Ebola for expanding benefits, reducing cost-sharing and increasing the coverage of health insurance . Turkey has also started its new collaborative efforts with international training institutes in order to provide comprehensive instructions on partnership with communities. It would enable the representation of the disadvantaged and under-resourced populations to enhance their health through the promotion of research and education, disease prevention and intervention. Turkey has also moved a step forward in integrating the public and private sectors of health care industry for accelerating the efforts towards health care in the country.

References

Reducing Disease Burden through Collaborative Approaches. (2010, 08 03). Retrieved 04 02, 2015, from Engaging Communities to Improve Global Health: http://obssr.od.nih.gov/training_and_education/EngagingCommunities/about.html
Tarar, M., & Tarar, F. (2010). Primary Healthcare in Turkey: A Passing Fashion. Health Policy and Planning , 224-233.
Taylor, D., Carter, S., Tatar, M., & Kanavos, P. (2013). Addressing the Social and Economic Burden of Disease in Turkey. World Health Advocacy .