Prevention and health care

Health promotion, prevention and care are effective mechanisms for preserving and improving health and therefore represent a prerequisite for faster socio-economic development. Preventive health care must be a strategic priority, a common goal and the greatest value of Montenegro. With the strengthening of the area of public health, the health of the population will improve, and thus the quality of life.

Disease prevention and health promotion through prevention programs and increasing the responsibility of citizens for their own health include activities to transfer knowledge about risk factors, avoiding risk of disease, behaviour in certain situations with certain diseases and among particularly vulnerable groups. These activities in primary health care centres are aimed at pregnant women, preschool and school children, youth and other sensitive (vulnerable) groups, and are performed within teams of chosen gynaecologists, chosen paediatricians and chosen doctors for adults. The Institute of Public Health prepares unique contents and instructions for the implementation of the mentioned programs and the necessary material for the implementation of special health campaigns and organizes the education of the necessary staff. 

Public health programs that are mostly related to the most common health risk factors (smoking, harmful use of alcohol, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet) are coordinated by the Institute of Public Health, and the program implementation includes the involvement of counselling units in primary health care centres, NGOs, humanitarian and other patient associations, associations of persons with disabilities, as well as citizens from the local communities. 

Prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases 

Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) are characterized by: long and frequent lifelong illness, reduced quality of life, causing disability and premature death, and a significant financial burden on the individual and society. Demographic trends with the aging population, as well as unhealthy lifestyles and jobs, increasing environmental pollution, as well as other factors contribute, especially in recent decades, to a significant increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases.

Control of chronic non-communicable diseases is achieved through prevention at the individual and population level, through targeted examinations, preventive examinations and promotion of healthy lifestyles and a healthy environment, joint actions of health care sector and other sectors and reduction of health care inequalities. 

In order to reduce morbidity and mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases in Montenegro, strategic, programme and planning documents were adopted concerning the prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases (heart and blood vessel diseases, diabetes, malignant diseases, mental illnesses), health-related risk factors (e.g. use of tobacco and tobacco products, harmful use of alcohol, excessive dietary salt intake), early detection of cancer (screening programs) and injuries.

The main goals of prevention and control of chronic non-communicable diseases are:

-           reduction of morbidity and premature death from cardiovascular diseases,

-           reduction of morbidity and premature death from malignant diseases,

-           reduction of morbidity and premature death from diabetes,

-           detection and reduction of exposure to risk factors for CNCDs

-           improving mental health and

-           reduction of injuries.

Prevention and control of communicable diseases 

The same as other countries in transition, Montenegro has been facing health threats since the 1990s. Various factors, which consequently caused the macroeconomic crisis, had a negative impact on the health of the population. Within the epidemiological transition, which Montenegro is also going through, the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases has increased, but in recent decades we have increasingly witnessed that the danger of communicable diseases has not passed. Although advances in the development and use of vaccines for the prevention of communicable diseases, therapies for their treatment, as well as the improvement of general hygiene have led to a reduction in morbidity and mortality from communicable diseases, it is necessary to continuously monitor and control communicable diseases and take all measures bearing in mind the increased cross-border threats of communicable diseases, considering the openness of borders and mobility (tourism, trade, asylum).  

That communicable diseases still require special attention is also indicated by diseases that are still present, and are a reflection of socio-economic conditions, such as tuberculosis, the emergence of new diseases, as well as the emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains.  

For the above reasons, effective and efficient mechanisms for the detection, prevention and control of communicable diseases must be continuously improved in order to respond to persistent threats.

The basic goals of prevention and control of communicable diseases are:

-           maintaining and improving coverage by immunizations of vaccine-preventable diseases;

-           control of bacterial resistance to antibiotics;

-           establishing a system for rapid response to health security threats.

Vaccination against communicable diseases in Montenegro is carried out in accordance with the annual immunization program, which is mandatory for all at a certain age, as well as others that are carried out in accordance with specific epidemiological and clinical indications. Although the national coverage of compulsory immunizations is relatively high, for some vaccines there are difficulties in maintaining the expected coverage (difficult to reach and socially vulnerable groups, continuity in the supply of vaccines, strengthening of anti-vaccine lobbies, etc.).