Explaining the challenges of hospitals admitting COVID‑19 patients from the perspective of managers (a qualitative study)
نویسندگان
1 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Health Care Management, Health Policy and Health Economic Department, Faculty of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
2 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Department of Health Economic and Management Sciences, Health School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Department of Health Economic and Management Sciences, Health School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
4 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Department of Health Economic and Management Sciences, Health School, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
doi
چکیده
BACKGROUND: Crises are often unavoidable events that occur around the world. Hospitals playan important role in treating patients and preventing extensive injuries in times of crisis, requiringadequate preparedness. In order to design a proper planning system, it is essential to be aware ofthe challenges of hospitals during a crisis. The purpose of this study was to explain the challengesof hospitals admitting COVID‑19 patients in the city of Mashhad, Iran, from the perspective of theirmanagers.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employed a qualitative approach, using the method ofconventional content analysis and was conducted from May to July 2020. A purposive samplingmethod was used to recruit the senior managers of hospitals admitting COVID‑19 patients in Mashhad.The interviews were conducted face to face, with open‑ended questions following an interview guidebased on semi‑structured questions, and continued until data saturation was reached. Data wereanalyzed using Atlas Ti software.RESULTS: After the implementation of the interviews, first 665 initial codes were extracted fromthe data, and after removing the overlapping sequences, a total of 115 codes were obtained. Threecategories (organizational challenges, extra organizational challenges, and challenges related toinformation domain), 13 sub‑categories, and 33 codes were extracted from the content analysis ofthe interviews. The main themes propounded in the field of challenges of COVID‑19 referral hospitalsin Mashhad were organizational challenges, extra organizational challenges, and information domainchallenges.DISCUSSION: The results of this study showed that the hospitals admitting COVID‑19 patients inMashhad faced many challenges. To improve the quality of services in postcrisis phase, replacinghospitals’ equipment, revising curriculums at medical universities, staff retraining, recruiting skilledhuman resources, and creating a supportive community context are necessary.CONCLUSION: For sure, the COVID‑19 crisis will not be the last one, we have to be prepared forthe bigger health crisis.
