Reviewing the National Health Services Quality Policies and Strategies of the Iranian Health System: A Document Analysis

Razieh Fallah; Mohammadreza Maleki; Aidin Aryankhesal; Aliakbar Haghdoost

doi:10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_1_22

Reviewing the National Health Services Quality Policies and Strategies of the Iranian Health System: A Document Analysis

Int J Prev Med. 2023 Aug 28:14:107. doi: 10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_1_22. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Razieh Fallah¹, Mohammadreza Maleki¹, Aidin Aryankhesal¹, Aliakbar Haghdoost²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Public Health School, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Abstract

Background: High-quality health care is an important component of efforts to reach Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Given this pivotal fact, poor quality of care is a significant bottleneck in the endeavors of Iran to UHC. This study was part of a broader qualitative study and aimed to provide supplementary data about the documents related to the National Quality Policies and Strategies (NQPS) health services in the health system of Iran to determine the degree of alignment with the World Health Organization (WHO) approach for NQPS, and to track change and development over time.

Methods: This document analysis was performed following the READ approach for systematic document analysis in health policy research. Furthermore, qualitative content analysis following parallel forms of the mixed analysis in which the textual material proceeded with different inductive and deductive content-analytical procedures simultaneously, applying the WHO practical approach for NQPS, was selected.

Results: The 15 included records that met the inclusion criteria were released in the post-Islamic Revolution period. The Ministry of Health was found as the most responsible authority for publishing the NQPS among the other authorities. Furthermore, 67% of NQPS was aligned with the goals and priorities of a broader national plan or policy. Contradictions, variations, and ambiguities were also found in the literature circumstances of the NQPS. There was no NQPS concentrated on the entire pathway of care in the Iranian health system, which developed according to the WHO approach for NQPS.

Conclusions: Qualitative analysis of the current NQPSs based on the eight inter-dependent elements and critical supplements, the technical perspective of broad stakeholders, community engagement, and steady commitment of policymakers are our recommendations for future efforts towards having NQPS.

Keywords: Government programs; Iran; policy; policymaking; quality improvement; quality of health care.

Publication types

Review