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It has always been argued that countries should not be inactive about the quality of health services. Therefore, a clear policy needs to be created regarding how quality of health services should be. The present scoping review was aimed to identify and map the available evidence regarding the National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS) of the health services in health systems of developing countries, graphically and tabularly. We followed the published methodological guidance of the Joanna Briggs Institute reviews. Also, we employed a narrative thematic synthesis integrated with the systematic analysis using the World Health Organization's approach of NQPS, and the multiple-streams framework of Kingdon. We included 33 records that met the inclusion criteria; these records were published between 2010 and 2019. Meanwhile, government documents were the most frequent records (61%). Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and Sudan were the most frequent locations (each one 8%). The Ministry of Health was in charge of the ultimate responsibility for developing the NQPS in all identified countries. Besides, 82% of the countries were in the development phase of NQPS formulation, and convergence of three streams was observed in Indonesia, Sudan, and Tanzania. It seems that the African countries were informed about their quality issues, and the need for having NQPS have been more popular with them. We recommend that future research focuses on examining NQPS in terms of prioritizing in the agenda-setting phase of the policy-making cycle, and also, document analysis of all identified NQPS based on the core eight interdependent elements related to the NQPS approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is one of the most important strategies adopted by countries in achieving goals of sustainable development. To achieve UHC, the governments need the engagement of the private sector. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting private sector engagement in achieving universal health coverage. Methods: The study is a scoping review that utilizes Arkesy & O'Malley frameworks. Data collection was conducted in MEDLINE, Web of Sciences, Embase, ProQuest, SID, and MagIran databases and the Google Scholar search engine. Also, manual searches of journals and websites, reference checks, and grey literature searches were done using specific keywords. To manage and screen the studies, EndNote X8 software was used. Data extraction and analysis was done by two members of the research team, independently and using content analysis. Results: According to the results, 43 studies out of 588 studies were included. Most of the studies were international (18 studies). Extracted data were divided into four main categories: challenges, barriers, facilitators, goals, and reasons for engagement. After exclusion and integration of identified data, these categories were classified in the following manner: barriers and challenges with 59 items and in 13 categories, facilitators in 50 items and 9 categories, reasons with 30 items, and in 5 categories and goals with 24 items and 6 categories. Conclusion: Utilizing the experience of different countries, challenges and barriers, facilitators, reasons, and goals were analyzed and classified. This investigation can be used to develop the engagement of the private sector and organizational synergy in achieving UHC by policymakers and planners. Paper context: Main findings: Governments are key in healthcare provision, but the private sector's involvement is increasingly vital for universal health coverage. Added knowledge: This paper explores the evolving role of the private sector in universal health coverage, analysing barriers, challenges, facilitators, reasons, and goals for engagement while suggesting areas for further exploration. Global health impact for policy and action: The private sector's contributions to achieving Universal Health Coverage necessitate comprehensive policy frameworks and targeted actions to ensure equitable and sustainable health outcomes worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) requires the management of behavioral risk factors such as tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption and tobacco use are the main risk factors of NCDs and account for about 1% and 13% of total deaths in Iran, respectively. This study aimed to analyze policies regarding tobacco use and alcohol consumption and understand their content, context, process, and actors in Iran. We conducted a case study design guided by the Walt and Gilson Policy Analysis Framework. This study was conducted in two phases: A review of policy documents on tobacco and alcohol, and scoping review of studies related to the policies identified in the first phase. The contents of tobacco and alcohol control policies are mostly in line with international recommendations including, the MPOWER policy package for tobacco and recommended target areas proposed by World Health Organization (WHO) for alcohol. Political commitment to health promotion, social and religious values, joining international treaties, and the high prevalence of NCDs have been significant factors in the agenda‐setting of alcohol and tobacco policies in Iran. Although the health governance structure and the primary health care system have provided opportunities for implementation of policies, weak cross‐sectoral collaboration and the lack of some stakeholders' support, including the tobacco industry, pose challenges to the successful implementation of tobacco and alcohol policies. Thus, a multi‐sectoral approach is essential to control NCDs in Iran. Key points: The increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, especially cardiovascular disease, political commitment to health promotion, and joining international treaties have been important factors in the formulation of policies to control tobacco use and alcohol consumption in Iran.Policies have been developed in line with the recommendations of international organizations, in particular the World Health Organization.Implementation of tobacco control policies has faced numerous challenges such as tobacco industry involvement in policymaking and lack of financial resources.Although service delivery systems such as primary health care centers, substance misuse centers, and hospitals are available to provide alcohol control services, the high stigma and cultural sensitivity may threaten the successful implementation of these policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, there have been many non-teaching hospitals that have become teaching hospitals. Although the decision to make this change is made at the policy level; But the unknown consequences can create many problems. The present study investigated the experiences of hospitals in changing the function of a non-teaching to a teaching hospital in Iran. Methods: A Phenomenological qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 40 hospital managers and policy makers who had the experience of changing the function of hospitals in Iran through a purposive sampling in 2021. Thematic analysis using inductive approach and MAXQDA 10 was used for data analysis. Results: According to the results extracted 16 main categories and 91 subcategories. Considering the complexity and instability of command unity, understanding the change of organizational hierarchy, developing a mechanism to cover client’s costs, considering increase management team’ legal and social responsibility, coordinating policy demands with Providing resources, funding the teaching mission, organizing the multiple supervisory organizations, transparent communication between hospital and colleges, understanding the complexity of processes, considering change the performance appraisal system and pay for performance were the solutions for decrease problems of changing the function of nonteaching to teaching hospital. Conclusion: Important matter about the improvement of university hospitals is evaluating the performance of hospitals to maintain their role as progressive actors in hospital network and also as the main actors of teaching future professional human resources. In fact, in the world, hospital becoming teaching is based on the performance of hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A good relationship between physician and patient is effective in improving public health. The present study aimed to identify the factors affecting proper patient–physician communication in health centers. Methods: To this end, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted in 2019. The interviews were performed purposefully, and 18 patients referred to health centers were interviewed with maximum variation. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed using the approach of content analysis. Results: Data analysis revealed two main themes of human communication and health access. The theme of human communication consisted of four subthemes: physician's knowledge and experience, physician's behavior and ethics, comprehensive attention to the patient, and physician's discipline. Further, the theme of health access consisted of two subthemes: the physical condition of the center and the condition of the equipment. Conclusion: The identified components can be used to train medical students and evaluate the communication performance of doctors in health centers paying appropriate attention to these factors leading to patient satisfaction and, consequently, improving public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infectious hospital waste, including needles and sharp instruments, is one of the most important causes of needle sticks. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the factors affecting the disposal of special medical waste with needle sticks among healthcare workers in hospitals at the Iran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This descriptive-analytical, retrospective, and cross-sectional study were done regarding the data in the autumn of 2019. Among 6119 medical-service staff, 180 subjects have been exposed to the needle stick at least once. Data were collected in two parts. The data were analyzed using correlation tests by SPSS software version 25. Results: The most devices leading to injury were needles (58%), angiocatheter (21%), ampoules (17%), suture needles (12%), scalpels (9%), other tools (8%), and razor blades (7%). The five wards with the highest needle sticks were the operating room (24.44%), surgery (22.22%), emergency (15%), internal wards (10%), and paraclinical (8.33%). Also, several factors, such as work shifts and the amount of work experience of individuals, can play an essential role in the rate of needle stitching of medical personnel. Importantly, we found a significant relationship between the volume of medical waste and employee needlestick rates. Conclusions: According to the results, we found a significant positive relationship between the volume of medical waste and employees' needle sticking rate. The observance of standard guidelines and the development and increase of occupational safety protection training courses have the most significant role in reducing needle sticks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]