Challenges of the organizational structure of county health network in Iran: findings from a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Primary healthcare with the right structure is the base for any highly efficient healthcare system to achieve better health outcomes at the lowest cost. Challenges of this system, including structural weaknesses, are one of the factors of inefficiency. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify challenges of the organizational structure of county health network in Iran. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative face-to-face semi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 key informants including experts and managers in Ahvaz-Iran. Purposive sampling method with maximum diversity were used. Interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Interview transcripts were analyzed based on a thematic analysis approach via NVivo-11. RESULTS: In analysis of the interviews, after removing the duplicate codes and merging similar items, finally 6 main challenges and 56 sub-themes were obtained. The themes of structural challenges included formalization, complexity, centralization, culture, environment, and resources. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the present situation, the challenges in the current organizational structure and a change in the goals and strategies of the healthcare system in Iran, the appropriate structure needs to be designed and implemented at different levels in accordance with the goals and strategies. The separation and independence of health centers management and hospitals (treatment) in the county can provide a basis for understanding the challenges to the provision of health services.