Analysis of upstream documents’ translation in to operational plans of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Iran

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: In Iran since 2014, simultaneously with the determination of the goals, strategies and policies of the Ministry of Health; The need to develop and implement a comprehensive and detailed operational plan was felt. Now, this research examines the effect of the operational plans of the country's universities on their performance indicators. Methods: This research is a parallel and exploratory study that analyzes the translation of upstream documents in the operational plans of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education using the framework of institutional mapping. For this purpose, the upstream documents in the field of health were examined. In the qualitative part, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the stakeholders. In order to compare the performance indicators of the university, the information of 32 indicators was evaluated. Analysis was done using SPSS 26 software. Results: According to the results of the present study; 12 of the 32 indicators have improved after the implementation of the program. The findings of the study showed that the most important operational planning challenges include; The lack of belief and motivation of employees and executives in the planning system, the lack of impact of planning in service delivery, the lack of acceptance of the cost of changes and reforms by the society, and the lack of definition of indicators based on health outcomes for each university. Conclusion: Despite the efforts made during the past years to solve operational planning challenges in the Ministry of Health; Not much progress has been achieved in the investigated indicators. Monitoring and taking care of basic and macro indicators at the ministry level, integration of various software to confirm documents, training of senior university managers regarding the necessity of planning, creating a corresponding planning structure in universities and allocating the necessary funds for establishing the program are among the most important solutions provided in this study. Key words: upstream documents, operational plan, Policy Analaysis, Documentary Policy, Iran