Thematic analysis of the policies of Iran’s health higher education
نویسندگان
1 Department of Medical Education, Virtual School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Health Management, Policy and Economics, Virtual School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Medical Education, Virtual School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Department of Community Oral Health, School of Dentistry, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
doi
چکیده
BACKGROUND: In 1985, the Iranian parliament approved the integration of Medical Education andHealth Services and the establishment of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, which hassince been the policymaker of Health Higher Education in Iran. The policies are not based on a codifiedframework and many were abolished at some point. Some critical issues are not addressed and someactivities overlap. The purpose of the present study was to identify the content themes of core policiesin the Iranian Health Higher Education system and provide a detailed policy orientation taxonomy.MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 2019 using the thematiccontent analysis of documents relevant to Higher Education and Health Higher Education, includingupstream documents, and documents and enactments of the Deputy Minister of Education and itspolicy centers.RESULTS: From 586 policy documents, six main themes or six core policy orientations in theHealth Higher Education System were identified, including Development of Medical EducationSystem Policies; Ensuring the Alignment of Operations with Policies; Policies Related to MedicalEducation Development; Value‑orientation; Networking and Development of Medical EducationSystem Interactions; and the Development of Research, Management, and Translation of MedicalEducation knowledge.CONCLUSION: Developing a taxonomy of Health Higher Education policy orientations helpspolicymakers identify the neglected and overstressed areas. It can provide education policymakerswith categorized and comprehensive information to quickly access accurate information, makeinformed decisions, avoid mistakes, and increase productivity.
