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Several years have passed since the establishment of population research centers all over the country. During the course of their activities, these centers have had numerous practical achievements. Still, the theoretical background of these activities needs further discussion. Moreover, the conceptual framework that centers in each of the medical universities have chosen for their activities is not explicitly defined and is not clearly communicated to other centers. The population research center in Tehran university of medical sciences, like other centers, has understood the necessity of a common conceptual framework to direct the activities of the center and to strengthen its position. The population center in Tehran university has chosen “Planned approach to community health” (PATCH) as the framework to direct its activities in order to achieve its goals and objectives in Tehran’s 17th municipal district. The center tries to convey its practical experience and achievements to other population centers. The planned approach to community health is composed of 5 practical steps: 1) Community mobilization 2) Needs assessment 3) Priority setting 4) Development of a comprehensive interventional plan and 5) Evaluation. In this article, the components and practical steps of planned approach to community health are explained in detail and an actual example of the implementation of the whole process is presented in the form of a project carried out by Tehran university of medical sciences. This project is entitled “Evaluation of an educational intervention accompanied by community participation to promote hygienic distribution of food in zone 17-covered by the population research center”. The aforementioned project is one of the many programs designed and carried out according to PATCH.