Doctor in circulation; A study on the historical background of the establishment and expansion of the Health Corps in Iran

Abstract

After September 1931 and the end of World War II, the Pahlavi government turned its attention to the villages and the implementation of the second development plan, followed by rural health programs. With the formation of the Health Corps in 1954, as the seventh principle of the Shah and the Nation Revolution, all physicians and pharmacists in the service of the conscription system were asked to take charge of medical-health services in rural areas of the country.

The present article uses archival documents and library resources in a descriptive-analytical manner to answer the question: Was the Health Corps in Iran a result of indigenous action or the result of the second Pahlavi government's development plans with US recommendations in support of Third World countries? The results of the research indicate that the historical nature and examples confirming the patient's defiance and their treatment were rooted in the historical past of Iran. The creation of the Health Corps and its acceptance by the villagers, due to its indigenous and Iranian nature, was acceptable in the historical memory of Iranians. However, the process of international interactions and the development policies of the country and the government's reform, along with taking advantage of US support opportunities, expanded within the framework of the principles of the White Revolution in Iran and led to extensive activity. This, as the present article claims, explains the indigenous practice of this measure.