Health Systems in Transition - Portugal

106 / 188

Health systems in transition Portugal 106
health systems with the new public health structures, giving public health
doctors a broader remit in terms of the health of the population. In 2016, the
government engaged in a broad reform entitled “a New Ambition for Public
Health” (Uma Nova Ambição para a Saúde Pública), considering upcoming
challenges such as population ageing and inequalities, and the increasing
importance of the Internet and social networks, which offer innovative ways of
communicating with the population. The reform is currently being discussed
with public health professionals and civil society.
A National Health Observatory (Observatório Nacional de Saúde) was
established in 1998 as part of the National Institute of Health (Instituto Nacional
de Saúde, Dr. Ricardo Jorge). This Observatory aims to centralize major
national health information systems and to produce timely reports on the health
of the population and its determinants, which directly impacts policy-making
(see section 2.5.2).
Public access to health information has also been developed further with
the mass dissemination of telecommunications, especially the Internet. The
Saúde 24 Call Centre provides sorting, counselling and guidance according
to the disease, including urgent situations. This service responds to personal
primary care needs through health promotion and disease prevention, as
well as public health needs, while participating in partnerships with other
services to improve the health status of certain groups and communities:
advising people on how to protect themselves from environmental risks, such
as heat waves or cold snaps, or the existence of polluted air due to particles
in suspension (e.g. a consequence of forest fires); helping to prevent disease
from spreading in epidemic situations, such as influenza or acute respiratory
syndrome; and promoting and encouraging healthy behaviours (nutrition
and family planning).
Another useful means of getting public health information to a vast
proportion of the population in a straightforward manner is the development of
Internet websites dedicated to public health issues, such as those provided by
the Ministry of Health (the new NHS website and the DGH
(see section 2.5.1).
In 2016, the Portuguese Government launched the National Programme
for Health Education, Literacy and Self-care, which aims to make information,
knowledge and informed decisions the major drivers of citizens’ involvement
in the health system. The new Programme was launched in the framework of
a “New Ambition to Public Health” (see above), stated in the Government’s