ArticleBMC health services research2021
Underlying factors and challenges of implementing the urban family physician program in Iran.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Insufficient evidence on the effectiveness of family physician program in Iran: a systematic review of existing literature.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Equity in the distribution of general practitioners and specialists in Iran: a health needs-adjusted analysis using the Robin Hood index (2006-2019).Human resources for health · 2026Article
- The agenda-setting process for urban family physician program within Iran's health insurance.BMC public health · 2025Article
- From intervention studies to national programs, what are the favoring and hindering factors? a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Scrutinizing the Perspective of Family Physician Teams After the first Decade of Implementation of Urban Family Physician Program: A Thematic Qualitative Study from Iran.International journal of preventive medicine · 2025Article
- Assessing urban family physician program challenges in Iran: the insurance organizations' perspective(2021).BMC public health · 2024Article
- Urban Family Physician Program after a Decade of Implementation from the Perspective of People: A Qualitative Study from Iran.International journal of preventive medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- The challenges of urban family physician program over the past decade in Iran: a scoping review and qualitative study with policy-makers.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Referral System Challenges of the Family Physician Program in Iran: A Systematic Review.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2023Review
- Challenges of Rural Family Physician Policy in Iran.International journal of preventive medicine · 2023Review
- Near Two Decades of the Family Physician Program in Iran and the Structural Challenges: A Systematic Review.International journal of preventive medicine · 2023Review
- Financial challenges in the family physician programme in Iran: A systematic review of qualitative research.Malaysian family physician : the official journal of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia · 2023Review
- Factors associated with patients' mobility rates within the provinces of Iran.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Analysis of Patients' Mobility Patterns: Insights From a Process Mining-Based Longitudinal Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe family physician program was launched in 2005 in rural areas of Iran and then piloted in 2012 in the cities of Fars and Mazandaran provinces due to insufficient health coverage in these cities. However, despite its pivotal role in the health system, this program has not progressed according to the policies. This study aimed to explain the underlying factors and challenges of implementing the urban family physician program in Iran.
methodsThis qualitative study was conducted on 44 policy-makers and managers at national and provincial levels selected via snowball and purposive sampling with maximum variation. The data were managed in MAXQDA 2020 and analyzed by directed content analysis. A triangulation method was adopted for this purpose.
resultsA total of 10 categories, 18 sub-categories, and 29 codes were formed. Most challenges related to underlying factors included precipitancy, economic sanctions, belief in traditional medicine, belief in the expertise of previous physicians, and global ranking of countries. For program implementation, most challenges included a diversity of insurance organizations, budget allocation, referral system, electronic file, educational system, and culture building.
conclusionsThe major challenges pertaining to underlying factors included international pressure for reforms and precipitancy in program implementation due to management changes. The challenges associated with program implementation included budget provision and interaction with insurance organizations. Therefore, to expand this program to other provinces in Iran, the identified factors should be carefully considered so that sufficient confidence and commitment can be guaranteed for all stakeholders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.