BACKGROUND:The move to universal health coverage and consequently health promotion is influenced by political, socioeconomic and other contextual factors in a country. Iran, as a developing country with an upper-middle national income, has developed policies to achieve universal health coverage through financial protection. This study aims to investigate barriers to develop financial protection as a requirement to achieve universal health coverage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted using 20 in-depth interviews with experts in social welfare, health insurance and financing. The framework analysis method was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results have been categorized in three major themes that were extracted from ten sub-themes. The major themes included the political, social and economic context of the country, the context and structure of healthcare system and dimensions of UHC. CONCLUSION:Achieving financial protection as a long-term objective should be considered as a priority among Iranian policy makers that requires an inter-sectoral collaboration with a defined in-charge body. Health policy makers in Iran should develop a more comprehensive benefits package for diseases and health conditions with catastrophic consequences. They also should develop a plan to cover the poor people.

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Street children are among the most marginalized children, globally, who experience severe violations of their rights and face multiple deprivations. This study aimed to describe street children’s characteristics and working conditions in Iran. Method: This cross-sectional rapid survey was conducted from March to May 2017 in six major cities in Iran. The sample group consisted of Iranian and non-Iranian girls and boys, aged 10 to 18, who worked on the streets for at least one month prior to the survey. Time–location based sampling was used. A total of 856 Children were randomly selected from 464 venues, including corners of streets, parks, metro gates, bus stations, shopping malls, and shopping centers frequented by street children. Results: Findings showed that 90% of participants were boys, 60% were between 10 and 14 years old, almost 50% attended school, 12% were illiterate, and 32% had quit school. Children of Afghan nationality comprised 54% of the study participants, and the rest were Iranian. Of all participants, 85% resided with family or relatives. Most children (75.5%) worked more than 5 h daily, and vending (71.2%) and waste picking (16.1%) were common activities. Street children suffered, mainly, from harsh weather (22.7%), insults and beatings of everyday people (21%), starvation (20.7%), and police repression (15.4%). More than half of the study participants were not involved in intervention programs, and just 7% of them had attended any health education programs. Conclusion: Street children reported little to no service use, which may contribute to poor health. Street children require immediate attention to improve their wellbeing. Decision-makers and academicians should collaborate on intervention development research to design appropriate health and social interventions targeted at street children.

Background: Several studies on street children in Iran reported a high prevalence of alcohol consumption among this group. This study assessed the prevalence of lifetime alcohol use and correlated factors among street children in Iran. Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 856 street children from six provinces of Iran. Behavioral data were collected by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire. Our target outcome was lifetime alcohol use. We examined associations between individual variables and lifetime alcohol use using the chi-square.A multiple logistic regression model included variables with a p-value < .2. Lastly, we reported the adjusted odds ratio (an OR) point estimate and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) as the effect measure.Results: Mean age and standard deviation (SD) of alcohol drinkers were 14.94 ± 2.16.Overall, 16.6% (CI95%: 14.38%, 19.55%) of participants reported lifetime alcohol use, and almost 60% of children reported alcohol use over three past months. In the final model, factors that were independently associated with alcohol use included the 15-18 age range (AOR 2.35, 95% CI 1.48−3.73), Iranian nationality (AOR 3.36, 95% CI 2.07−5.45), working longer than 5 years in the streets (AOR 2.90, 95% CI 1.72−4.88), father's drug use (AOR 1.93,, and illiteracy (AOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.03−2.66). Conclusions:The results of the present study demonstrated that preventive plans for alcohol use among street children must be addressed using the services provided by governmental and nongovernmental organizations.