Involvement of charities in Iran’s health care system: a qualitative study on problems and executive/legal/supportive requirements

Abstract

Background This study aimed to reflect on scientific experts’ and executive stakeholders’ opinions on how charitable organizations can participate in the health care system properly and cope with problems, challenges, strategies, and executive requirements at three major levels of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Methods A total number of 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with scientific experts and executive stakeholders, selected for this qualitative study, based on an interview guide. Using the purposeful sampling method, we selected scientific experts with 5 years of experience in the health care system and executive stakeholders who had 5 years of experience in charitable activities. We applied a framework method for data analysis, and the main themes were extracted through MAXQDA software. Results Our findings revealed that charitable organizations at the major levels of the health care system, i.e., prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation, possessed the necessary capacities to provide services effectively. Nevertheless, charities encountered some problems, e.g., financial instability, non-recognition of donors’ legal status, non-involvement in policy-making, inadequate cooperation from other agencies, absence of transparent programs and goals, together with weaknesses in advertising and attracting donations. It was noted that the government should take more operational steps towards supporting such organizations, e.g., by granting special facilities and exemptions, engaging charities in policy-making and training processes, and empowering them in terms of the production of resources. Charitable organizations are also recommended to establish external communications with other bodies such as municipalities, secretaries of state, governorate offices, welfare organizations, relief committees, and medical sciences universities. Conclusions Charitable organizations have the potentials to provide health care services at prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation levels. Thus, it is of utmost importance to adopt strategies such as creating sustainable funding sources, training charity managers with a wide variety of scientific management techniques, and implementing their intellectual capacities in legislative and planning processes.

A Cohort Study on Diabetic Undocumented Migrants in Italy: Can Charitable Organizations Contribute to Higher Adherence?

“…At the Italian level, there are significant experiences of "proximity medicine" on vulnerable groups, such as the one studied in this research, which support the picture of charitable organizations as tools that the NHS could use to offer healthcare services to undocumented migrants and guarantee the continuity of care. However, the stakeholders involved in charities would benefit from central coordination by the government, taking more operational steps towards supporting such organizations, e.g., by granting special facilities and exemptions, engaging charities in policymaking and training processes, and empowering them in terms of the production of resources [28]. If correctly managed by the central level, the net of NGOs and charitable organizations could fulfil that significant potential for developing culturally and linguistically appropriate, clinically sound, and cost-effective interventions that is advocated [39] to respond to the growing migrant and ethnic minority populations affected by diabetes worldwide.…”

“…In this panorama, a strategic role could be played by charitable organizations, which have been recognized as having the potential to provide health care services at prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation levels [28]. In Italy, like in other European countries, there is a widespread net of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that provide healthcare services to people in need, and that are mainly run voluntarily [29,30].…”

Sustainability of Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control Programs in Iran: A Mixed-methods Study from Managers' Perspective

“…These programs include the food labeling campaign, the national campaign to control blood pressure, provincial and regional campaigns to increase physical activity, encourage dairy consumption, reduce salt, sugar, and oil use, quit smoking, and control anxiety (19,35). However, managers and experts in charge of implementing these programs and campaigns need more knowledge and skills in involving and utilizing the capacities of the community and other institutions and insist on relying on limited governmental resources (36). In this regard, the UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting encourages identifying and mobilizing coordination and resources from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charities to reduce the burden of chronic diseases (37).…”