Health Promotion Strategies in Georgia

Background The main burden of global morbidity comes from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As recent data shows, almost 97% of mortality is caused by NCDs in Georgia. According to the WHO, Georgia has one of the highest smoking prevalence in Europe. Effective health promotion strategies are crucial to prevent chronic diseases and to improve health education. The main aim of this scoping review was to analyse the literature on health promotion strategies in Georgia, as well as to provide an overview of current initiatives and activities. Methods Medline and PubMed databases, as well as official government documents and grey literature where used to identify relevant literature. We finalised search by September 2019. Results Our study showed that the Formation of Health Care sector started in 1995 and since then, health promotion has been an important component of Public Health in the country. Moreover, four out of eight main goals of the 'Millennium Development Goals in Georgia' address health issues. Implementation of state programs and public health measures in the field of public health remains a main priority for the 'National Center for Disease Control and Public Health' (NCDC). Working areas of the center include development of health promotion, disease prevention strategies and programs. Currently, the NCDC is implementing nine state programs with this regard. However, our analyses showed that improvement of population's health is a complex process and requires coordinated actions by involving the following sectors: government, health, social and economic, NGOs, local municipalities, media and industrial sectors, health researchers and civil society. Conclusions Our study clearly demonstrates that health promotion strategies are essential for the improvement of nation's general health and welfare. However, increasing tendency of NCDs in the country requires the strengthening of existing programs as well as developing and implementing new strategies. Key messages The health promotion strategy, with its multi-component and multilateral nature, has the greatest potential to improve public health in Georgia. Strategies are particularly effective when it is strengthened by other actions, including partnership, community and intersectional involvement in decision-making.