Evaluating maternal and child health indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2018: what is Iran's position? / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: Since many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were not achieved, countries including Iran—despite achieving some of the MDGs—need regular planning to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This article examines maternal and child health indicators in the early years of the SDGs in Iran relative to several other countries.METHODS: This study was carried out through a secondary analysis of maternal and child health indicators in Iran. The results were compared with data from other countries divided into three groups: countries with upper-middle income levels, countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and the countries covered by the Outlook Document 1,404 (a regional classification). Then, the relationship between these indicators and the Human Development Index was investigated.RESULTS: Iran has attained better results than other countries with respect to maternal mortality, family planning, skilled birth attendance, under-5 deaths, incidence of hepatitis B, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination coverage, and antenatal care. In contrast, Iran performed worse than other countries with respect to under-5 wasting, under-5 stunting, and care-seeking behavior for children.CONCLUSIONS: Overall, among the 11 indicators surveyed, Iran has attained better-than-average results and seems to be improving. We recommend that Iran continue interventions in the field of maternal and child health.

Evaluating maternal and child health indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2018: what is Iran's position? / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES@#Since many Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were not achieved, countries including Iran—despite achieving some of the MDGs—need regular planning to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This article examines maternal and child health indicators in the early years of the SDGs in Iran relative to several other countries.@*METHODS@#This study was carried out through a secondary analysis of maternal and child health indicators in Iran. The results were compared with data from other countries divided into three groups: countries with upper-middle income levels, countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and the countries covered by the Outlook Document 1,404 (a regional classification). Then, the relationship between these indicators and the Human Development Index was investigated.@*RESULTS@#Iran has attained better results than other countries with respect to maternal mortality, family planning, skilled birth attendance, under-5 deaths, incidence of hepatitis B, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination coverage, and antenatal care. In contrast, Iran performed worse than other countries with respect to under-5 wasting, under-5 stunting, and care-seeking behavior for children.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Overall, among the 11 indicators surveyed, Iran has attained better-than-average results and seems to be improving. We recommend that Iran continue interventions in the field of maternal and child health.

Developing a framework for the monitoring and evaluation of the Health Transformation Plan in the Islamic Republic of Iran: lessons learned

Background: Monitoring and evaluation of health system reforms are essential to ensure the achievement of their objectives. The latest heath sector reform in the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely, the Health Transformation Plan (HTP), was launched in 2014 and the country is embarking on the HTP to achieve universal health coverage (UHC).

Aims: The study aimed to develop the most appropriate monitoring and evaluation framework for the HTP in accordance with national and global goals and priorities, and to identify data gaps in its monitoring and evaluation.

Method: A case study and evidence-based approach was applied to develop the monitoring and evaluation framework. The model that was proposed jointly by the World Bank and the World Health Organization for monitoring and evaluation of UHC was used as the basis for the potential list of the indicators and key policy documents were reviewed, accordingly. The framework formulation process was carried out through a series of meetings with experts and senior managers working at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, whose perspectives on the frameworks functionality and usage were regarded as valuable. The final draft was presented to policy-makers for input and approval.

Results: A data mapping revealed that at least nine national surveys were required to obtain the indicators for effective monitoring. At the time of framework designing, many indicators were not available or had not been updated for several years due to lack of available and appropriate data sources.

Conclusions: Results indicated that the country’s health information system had many information gaps that should be filled to enable the tracking of UHC goals and measuring the success of the plan. Applying the proposed framework would increase the comparability of the country’s health indicators at the global level and specify a path to successfully achieve the objectives of the reform

[Perceptions of patient safety culture among staff of selected hospitals affiliated to Tehran university of medical sciences]

Patient safety is a critical component of health care quality .Safety culture plays an important role in the approach toward greater patient safety in health care settings. The purpose of this study is to measure patient safety culture in three teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences [IUMS]. This research is a cross sectional study. The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture -HSOPSC -was distributed hospital-wide in these hospitals. It evaluates ten patient safety culture dimensions and four outcomes. In total, 311 individual responded [overall response rate = 90 per cent], including 198 nurses, 57 physicians, 32 pharmacy, laboratory and radiology assistants and 24 of other staff. Research findings indicate that the patient safety culture scores of selected hospitals were considerably low. The lowest scores were "non-punitive responses to error" [17/8 per cent], "teamwork across hospital units [18/2 per cent], "feedback and communication about error" [19/8 per cent] and "communication openness" [19/9 per cent] .The dimension "teamwork within hospital units" generated the highest score [47/2 per cent]. In addition, the staff of hospitals "A and B" graded the safety performance of their hospitals as acceptable and hospital "C" performance was graded as poor. According to respondents, in the hospital "A" only 1-2 events were reported during past 12 month and in hospitals "B" and "C" no events were reported. Findings of this research indicate that the important aspects of the patient safety culture in these hospitals need improvement. This is an important challenge for all managers desiring improvement in patient safety

[ study of the relationship between organizational culture and quality improvement in selected hospitals of Tehran Medical Sciences Universities]

To examine the relationship between organizational culture and the extent of Quality Improvement Model implementation in a sample of hospitals in Tehran, Iran and Shahid Beheshti Universities of Medical Sciences. This research is a cross sectional study. The statistical population consists of the clinical staff of Rrasoul-Akram, Shahid Modarres and Tehran Heart Center hospitals in which the Quality Improvement Model [ISO 9001-2000] has been implemented. To collect the data, a questionnaire based upon the competing values model was used to assess aspect of organizational culture in selected hospitals and quality improvement implementation questionnaire adopted from Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award was used to determine the extent of implementation of quality improvement initiatives. Research findings indicate that the score average on clan culture is 31.6 in Tehran Heart Center, 19.8 in Rasoul-Akram hospital and 21.25 in Shahid Modarres hospital from 100 score and the extent of quality improvement model [in a likert scale 1-5] is 4.33 in Tehran Heart Center Hospital, 3/54 in Rasoul-Akram Hospital and 3.56 in Shahid Modarres Hospital. In addition, based on the correlation analysis, team [clan] culture has a significant positive correlation with the extent of implementation of quality improvement model in an organization. The finding of this research, support the hypothesized linkage between team culture and quality improvement