Resisting social innovation: the case of neighborhood health centers in Belgium

The role played by powerful social groups in opposing or even halting the diffusion of social innovation is insufficiently studied regarding modern time social innovations. This is especially relevant in cases aimed at meeting social groups with few resources, such as people in poverty. This paper examines this in the case of Neighborhood Healthcare Centers in Belgium, a social innovation with potential to offer accessible care to less resourceful inhabitants. It documents how these organizations made an effort to expand but were met with sustained resistance of doctors’ associations and political opponents. It concludes that the inherent merits of social innovations which benefit vulnerable groups are insufficient to warrant their diffusion, as initiatives might run against the interests of more powerful groups.

Designing an Optimal Model for Development of Neighborhood Health Centers in the City of Yasuj, Iran

: Health is one of the fundamental values and needs of humans. It is an accepted right in international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the statement of the World Health Organization. The present study aimed to design an optimal model for the development of Neighborhood Health centers in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province, Iran, in 2018 - 2019. The research population included 200 residents and 200 health staff and authorities in the city of Yasuj. The instruments and questionnaires for evaluating and surveying the health centers’ duties, people’s attitudes, and center development strategies were provided by the researcher and confirmed in terms of validity and reliability. The midwifery service (m = 37.4) and mental health service (m = 31.8) had the highest and lowest rates of quality score of service. of service, respectively. The mean (standard deviation) scores of people’s and authorities’ attitudes toward the provision of services in health centers were 4.46 (0.6) and 3.9 (0.8), respectively. The attitude of males, physicians, and nurses had a significant effect on the development strategies of health centers (P < 0.05). To achieve better results, neighborhood health centers should respect the principle of equity and equal access, and pay attention to vulnerable classes such as immigrants and low-income populations.