Non-Profit Organizations and Associations in Public Commissions Under Chief Bureaus of Sociomedical Assessment in Different Regions of Russian Federation

Abstract

The system of medical and social expertise in Russia is three years old. Involvement of public and the non-profit sector have resulted in a significant number of representatives of specialized non-profit organizations in public commissions under the chief bureaus of sociomedical assessment. Patient-oriented non-profit organizations introduce new guidelines into the system, e.g., a more rapid adjustment of medical and social expertise to the needs of the target group. Nevertheless, the quality and accessibility of sociomedical assessment services remain a prospective research field. The article describes the involvement of non-profit organizations and associations in the activities of public commissions under the chief bureaus of medical and social assessment. The research was part of the project on Public participation in improving the sociomedical assessment in the Russian Federation: involvement, development, and monitoring. The research data were obtained from structured interviews with representatives of public commissions at the chief bureaus of sociomedical assessment and focus group interviews. Two groups included 12–15 representatives of patient non-profit organizations involved in public commissions. The resulting analysis of the composition of public commissions for 2018–2022 revealed the following facts. Patient non-profit organizations were the most significant group among public commissions are representatives of patient non-profit organizations (34.1%). Representatives of the chief bureaus of sociomedical assessment tended to leave: 12% in 2018 and 4% in 2022. The wide representation of non-profit organizations indicated the public orientation of the commissions. The most active participants were those non-profit organizations that consulted citizens, thus improving the effectiveness of the commissions. The factors that affected the activity of public commissions were connected with their employees, i.e., their awareness, goal understanding, motivation for public work, involvement, and workflow management. Patient non-profit organizations participated in the work of public commissions in following types: presence, representation, and goal achievement. The current development vector is the shift to the type of goal achievement.