Explaining the barriers to donor participation in the field of health: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Iran’s health system is facing increasing costs and a lack of resources. Developing the financial participation of donors is one of the ways to strengthen the financial health system. OBJECTIVE: This research was done to explain the barriers to donors’ participation in the field of health. METHOD: This qualitative study was conducted in 2022 using semi-structured interviews with 22 experts, health donors, policymakers, and managers in Iran. The conventional content analysis method was also used for data analysis. RESULTS: The review and classification of the interviews showed that the participation of donors in the health system includes four main issues: the incompleteness of legal processes, the lack of continuous communication with the charity, management, and resources problems, and the insufficient awareness of the donors about the problems and needs of the health system and 18 subtopics. CONCLUSIONS: Donors play an important role in financing, developing resources, providing health services, and financially supporting patients in Iran’s health system. Therefore, by recognizing and removing obstacles to the participation of donors, policymakers and managers of the health system should target the participation of donors with proper planning, organization, guidance, and supervision, and avoid parallel work and waste of resources.