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Which groups of the poor are supported more by the law? Pro‐poor health policy network in Iran
Author(s) -
Etemadi Manal,
Ashtarian Kioomars,
Gorji Hasan Abolghasem,
Kangarani Hananneh Mohammadi
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the international journal of health planning and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1099-1751
pISSN - 0749-6753
DOI - 10.1002/hpm.2744
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , focus group , general partnership , business , confusion , order (exchange) , social support , institution , social network analysis , public relations , political science , psychology , law , social capital , marketing , finance , social psychology , psychoanalysis
Summary Background Considering the challenges of health services utilization of the poor in Iran, it is necessary to examine the supportive policy documents about the poor in order to identify such challenges. Methods This study is a policy documents analysis that has evaluated the legal documents in the health financial support to the poor. The researchers looked in the websites for documents and referred to related organizations. Social network analysis approach and UCINET software were chosen for data analysis. Results Twenty‐seven different disadvantaged groups were identified for financial support in the legal documents. The main focus was on “poor people,” “unsupported women and children,” and “disabled and elderly poor people.” There is a bundle of confusion about the number of supporting institutions for different groups and the amount of support in the network. Conclusion The coverage of the poor in Iran has been impaired by a lack of clear boundary in their support. Because of the interorganizational partnership challenges, much more promising results would have been achieved if there was only one administrative institution for the Iranian poor. Given the inconsistencies seen in the support types and levels for the poor to access health services, it is inevitable to amend the laws.