Health Policy in The Period of Atatürk

In the early years of Republic, in the field of health as in other areas it is seen that there is a universal policy. Today, the laws that form the basis of medical practices went into effect in 1928, 1930 and 1933. The approaches including understanding of preventive health services, health education, community participation and priority setting that are crucial to the whole world are seen directing the health policy of this period. The perspective of Ataturk to health and health services is the decisive factor in determining the conduct of these policies. Except for a limited number of studies this perspective is not assessed. This assessment will be useful in a period of very significant changes in the health sector. During evaluation, it should be noted that the period covered the National Liberation War and the time after First World War, the world economic crisis occur and pre-World War II.