Meeting with Board Members on the Association’s Role in Promoting Community Culture and Correcting Misinformation

October 2023

The role of Oman Medical Association in enriching community culture with health and medical information

The Oman Medical Association plays a vital role in enriching the culture of our society and providing it with all the correct and reliable information related to the fields of medicine and health. The association works in coordination and cooperation with the relevant authorities in the Sultanate of Oman, as the community health culture represents an essential pillar of development. These efforts will help to avoid health rumors and fallacies which spreads from time to time among different sections of the society.
The Oman Medical Association is also keen to achieve many of the main goals stipulated in the statute. One of the most prominent areas of focus is: spreading health awareness in society and working to improve health services for them on the one hand, and submitting proposals to develop health services in the Sultanate of Oman to the competent authorities on the other hand. The association works continuously, in coordination with the relevant authorities in the country, to promote medical and health culture among all segments of society. We help in developing annual awareness plans and implementing them with complete professionalism. We also follow up on the work and activities of the executive committees emanating from the association’s Board of Directors in areas related to society. The Committee for Scientific Societies, the Media Committee, the Medical Relief Committee and the Scientific Committee are also concerned with following up on all published medical and health information, rejecting rumors related to methods of diagnosis and treatment, and preventing the spread/dissemination of such false information.
Regarding the role of the association in this regard, Dr. Sultan bin Salem Al Harthy, the General Secretary of the association and the Chairman of the Committee for Scientific Societies, outlined the following: The bylaws of the Oman Medical Association allow for the establishment of scientific societies in medical and health specialties. The association’s board of directors approves the establishment of such societies after reviewing its objectives and the extent of the specialization’s need for them. This stems from the association’s belief in the importance of having scientific societies in all specializations and fields through which the goals and ambitions that the association seeks to achieve can be effectively fulfilled. Among the major goals assigned to the societies is the commitment to spreading community awareness in the field of the specialization concerned with the society (For e.g., cardiology, neurology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, hypertension, diabetes, behavioral medicine, surgical medicine and its various specialties, and all other specialties included in the concerned scientific society). The association closely follows up on the community events and activities of these scientific societies on an annual basis and provides them with the necessary support to conduct these activities. The association also provides the necessary recommendations for development and modernization of these societies. The association is also committed to maintaining a permanent coordination between them: the association believes in building bridges of joint cooperation, including serving the community and advancing its health culture.
Regarding the association’s efforts in scientific fields, Prof. Rashid Khalfan Salim Al-Abri, the Vice President of the association and the Chairman of the Scientific Committee, mentioned the following: Since its founding in 2001, the Oman Medical Association has taken concrete steps towards keeping pace with all the scientific developments related to the medical profession and different health specializations, including the latest scientific publications in all medical specialties. Additionally, the association follows up on different health issues and advances in medical treatments. The field of medical research is considered one of the primary fields in scientific research. To support this domain, the Oman Medical Association is currently working on issuing an international scientific journal of the association in the near future. This journal will remain as an official platform for documenting scientific research presented in various medical fields in a way that serves the researchers, interested specialists, scholars, readers, and the community in general. The journal will also serve as a resource and reference guide for reliable and accurate medical information that will benefit the researchers and the readers in general, and will be supportive of existing scientific medical journals in the region. By facilitating the publication of peer-reviewed scientific research, this journal will add immense value to the association’s work. This will be a major step in fulfilling the objectives and mandates of the association to the fullest. It will help to create awareness in different aspects related to healthcare and to achieve better standards and professionalism.
Regarding the role of Media Committee of the Oman Medical Association, Dr. Mahmoud bin Nasser Al Rahbi, the Treasurer of the Association and the Chairman of the Media Committee, gave the following update: As everyone knows, multiple media outlets have had a significant impact on the public over the past few years, due to their ability to transmit news, information and images in a reliable and authentic manner. Therefore, the Oman Medical Association has been keen to invest in various media to improve the quality of life in society by spreading health awareness and also preventing the dissemination of inaccurate/false information related to healthcare. Additionally, the association’s Media Committee seeks to develop annual media awareness plans to achieve these objectives, indicating that within the upcoming plans, the focus will be on health programs in various media formats. This will also be done in cooperation with our scientific societies and in coordination with the print, visual and audio media.
As for health education and its importance, Dr. Sheikhan Nasser Al Hashmi, a member of the association’s Board of Directors, explained: The importance of health education in society lies in enabling people to have a correct scientific outlook that helps them explain different health phenomena, which makes the individuals able to search for disease causes on their own. This will enable individuals to avoid and prevent these disease-causing scenarios. Health Education is a resource of knowledge that the individuals benefit from when there is a need to make sound health decisions in the face of the false information and various rumors that they are exposed to on a daily basis. Therefore, the Oman Medical Association works in cooperation with the concerned authorities to enhance the ways and means of achieving proper health education. The association wishes to aim for the highest health goals and achieve the goals by helping to maintain excellent health standards and keep the community safe.