ABSTRACT
Advances in the knowledge of the natural history of disease, clinical sciences, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, administration sciences, and information technologies have completely changed the future of health care services, which act as a front line for contact with communities. Microcomputer-supported decision models are primarily based on the concept of attributable risk of disease as a proxy for the health needs of the community. The models offer good prospects for improving the level of community health because they assist the community health center administration in formulating a rational and economical use of the available health resources. The traditional restricted view tends to be replaced with a multifocal view of community health center objectives worldwide. Although they are primarily concerned with the control of individual health problems, health centers also must deal with the control of the disease itself and the promotion of community health.
