Provinces which have started implementing IMCI

Districts which have started implementing IMCI

Health facilities implementing IMCI | Graphs

Health providers trained in IMCI

INTRODUCTION PHASE
MOH&ME official, written endorsement to implement the IMCI strategy	June 1997
National IMCI Orientation Meeting for decision-makers	November 1997
National Committee established, IMCI structure set up with appointment of IMCI coordinator and focal point	November 1998
EARLY IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
Adaptation of MCI clinical guidelines completed	August 1998
First 6-day IMCI case management course for doctors at central level conducted	October 1999
IMCI early implementation phase started at district level (6-day courses for physicians and 10-day courses for behvarzes)	January 2000
First IMCI follow-up visits after training conducted	March 2000
Review of Early Implementation Phase and planning for the Expansion Phase conducted	December 2001
EXPANSION PHASE
Beginning of expansion to the whole country	January 2002
IMCI introduced in pre-service training	March 2002

IMCI implementation

• Selection of provinces/districts for IMCI implementation

• Preparation of health facilities prior to IMCI implementation

• Targeted providers at health facility

• IMCI clinical guidelines

• IMCI case management training course duration

• Follow up after training (skills reinforcement)

• Supervision

Selection of provinces/districts for IMCI implementation 

Criteria used to select provinces and districts for the early implementation phase have included:

• Good physical access to central staff, to enable follow-up;

• Availability of committed staff at district level for planning and management.

Since 2002, all provinces in the country have been implementing IMCI. Top

Preparation of health facilities prior to IMCI implementation 

Preparatory activities include ensuring regular supplies of drugs and vaccines. Top

Targeted providers at health facility 

Staff working at primary health care (PHC) facilities—including health centres and health houses—and managing children under-five are the primary target of IMCI in the country (see current coverage). Top

IMCI clinical guidelines 

The generic WHO/UNICEF IMCI technical guidelines have served as a starting point for the development of the Iranian IMCI guidelines, prepared for different categories of health providers. Top

IMCI case management training course duration

Course duration varies according to the category of health provider involved:

• Physicians: 6 days

• Behvarzes: 10 days Top

Follow up after training (skills reinforcement) 

The first follow-up visit after IMCI case management training is usually conducted 4 to 6 weeks after the course. Data collected during the visits are collated at central level. Top

Supervision

Supervision of health providers trained in IMCI is carried out using a 39-item supervisory checklist (in Farsi) developed specifically for this purpose.  Top