Participation of nongovernmental organizations in Iran's health-care system: challenges and suggestions for improvement

Abstract

PurposeNongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role in modern health-care systems complementing state organizations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the challenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study was conducted in 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 26 participants: 11 managers and experts at the office of NGOs in the Ministry of Health (MOH) and universities of medical sciences and 15 chief executive officers (CEOs) of health-related NGOs in Tehran, Iran. The participants were chosen using the non-probabilistic approach of purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data analysis was performed using the thematic analysis method and MAXQDA 10 software.FindingsChallenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system are categorized into external and internal challenges. Financial issues, the process of getting permissions, lack of trust in NGOs, weak relationships with the public sector and lack of law are identified as main challenges. Building trust in NGOs, passing the NGOs' law, making people more familiar with NGOs and capacity development are the most important measures that improve the role of NGOs and resolve barriers to their participation in Iran's health-care system.Originality/valueIn this study, for the first time, the challenges of NGOs' participation in Iran's health-care system are investigated by examining the views of both the public sector and NGOs. Improving the participation of NGOs in the health-care system provides Iran's MOH with the opportunity to make use of the NGOs' capacities to eliminate public health issues.

Nonprofit capacity and social performance: mapping the field and future directions

“…Moreover, nonprofits’ performance depends on their capacity, and their failure to do so results in challenges and impediments (Ebrahimi et al 2021 ). Some studies have found that building capacity incurs costs and increases cost operation, affecting the efficiency of funds spent on beneficiaries (Battilana et al 2013 ; Cheah et al 2019b ).…”

“…A growth in management capacity expenses (salaries, professional fees, marketing, and system) mediates a positive relationship between the overhead ratio and the success of nonprofits. However, capacity in management is staff, financial, and project management (Ebrahimi et al 2021 ), which are interchangeable. Thus, management capacity is the management’s ability and capability to plan, manage, and implement resources and activities to achieve the social mission.…”

Identifying the non-governmental organizations' activities and challenges in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran

“…NGO registration system, interaction with other NGOs, private sectors and government, and internationalization and financial crisis are the most challenging issues facing the NGOs. Despite these challenges, the NGOs helped Iran to cope with COVID-19 [ 23 ].…”

International Journal of Health Governance review 26.4

“…Two of the articles (Jain and Dhir, 2021;Mittal et al, 2021) describe healthcare issues in India. Four further articles address current issues in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) area (Ashraf and Ong, 2021;Baithesda et al, 2021;Del Rosario et al, 2021;Sooampon et al, 2021), whilst the two outliers address healthcare in Iran (Ebrahini et al, 2021) and Norway (Aase et al, 2021). Two articles focus on the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in healthcare.…”

“…Two articles focus on the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in healthcare. The relationship between these is that they both address the issue of NGOs in developing countries (Ebrahini et al, 2021;Jain and Dhir, 2021). A further two articles focus on improving care for elderly patients (Baithseda et al, 2021;Aase et al, 2021).…”