Journal
FAMILY PRACTICE
Volume 30, Issue 5, Pages 551-559Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/fampra/cmt025
Keywords
Family medicine; family physician; Iran; policy implementation; primary care; primary health care; universal health insurance
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The primary health care (PHC) network contributed considerably to improving health outcomes in rural Iran. However, the health system suffers from inadequate responses to ever-increasing demands. In 2005, a reform comprised of a family physician (FP) programme and universal health insurance was implemented in all rural areas and cities with a population of < 20 000. We explored the role of the pre-existing PHC network on the implementation of FP programme in rural Iran. We conducted a qualitative study involving 71 semi-structured interviews at national, provincial and local levels, and three focus group discussions at local level, plus a purposeful content analysis of documents of various types. We used a mixed inductive/deductive framework approach for data analysis. We identified seven main aspects related to the existing primary health network, which contributed to the implementation of FP programme: a respected and functioning PHC network, accessibility and geographical coverage, efficient hierarchy, the only possible host, a remedy for chronic challenges in the rural PHC, FP as the gatekeeper? and the role of the private sector. The existence of a functioning PHC was pivotal in driving policy makers decision to implement FP programme. Implementing a new policy depends on its hosting context. In regards to FP programme and rural insurance in Iran, the existing PHC network proved to be a fundamental asset in facilitating the implementation of FP programme in rural areas.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available