Ahmad Sadeghi

A Qualitative Study to Identify Skills and Competency Required for Hospital Managers.

Introduction Hospital managers aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their institutions through leadership and guidance of medical personnel. Fulfilling these objectives requires a holistic approach to both the management of people and institutional prioritization. The aim of this study was to identify the skills and competencies that hospital managers must demonstrate in order to achieve their objectives. Methods In 2015, a regional, multi-center qualitative study was undertaken in Shiraz, Iran. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with university hospital managers, senior managers, faculty members, and post-graduate students, and the results were analyzed using the content analysis method by MAXQDA software. Results Eight key skill themes (communication, experience, appreciation of institution logistics/infrastructure, management skills, motivation, systematic problem solving, ethics, and financial/legal awareness) were identified among the hospital managers. The common challenges that face hospital institutions include problems with hierarchical and organizational structure, excessive rules and regulations, lack of resources, poor post-graduate education, and overall management. Recurring themes with respect to how these could be addressed included changing the culture and belief structure of the hospital, restructuring the organizational hierarchy, and empowering the people. Conclusion In our cohort, practical skills, such as communication and experience, were considered more important than theoretical skills for the effective management and administration of hospitals. Therefore, we suggest that practical, skill-based training should be emphasized for students of these disciplines so they will be better suited to deal with real world challenges. Further organizational improvements also can be attained by the active and constructive involvement of senior university managers.

Strategies to develop and promote public-private partnerships (PPPs) in the provision of hospital services in Iran: a qualitative study.

Introduction Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been constructively considered in recent years to reform health sectors in many countries. This study aimed at explaining the strategies to develop and promote PPPs in the provision of hospital services in Iran. Methods This qualitative study was conducted in 2015. The study population consisted of experts and professionals of the health system and individuals familiar with PPPs and roles in the development of such models in hospital services in Iran that were selected through purposeful sampling, and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. To this end, 18 experts and professionals of the health system and individuals familiar with PPPs and roles in the development of such models in hospital services in Iran were selected. The data were analyzed and classified using MAXQDA10 software and content analysis, respectively. Results According to the results of this study, four main themes and 20 subthemes in terms of strategies to develop and promote PPPs in the provision of hospital services in Iran were identified, including changes in policies and laws, socio-cultural changes, improvement of mechanisms and current processes, and financial and capital capacity building. Conclusion To develop and promote PPPs in the provision of hospital services, there is a need to consider prerequisites and measures to help such partnerships to be effective and produce valuable results.

Psychological factors of healthful diet promotion among diabetics: an application of health action process approach

Background and aim Worldwide, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevalence has increased. Non-healthful diet is one of the main reasons to T2DM growth. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the health action process approach (HAPA) in explaining healthful diet (HD) in T2DM patients. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted based on HAPA in Isfahan, Iran between July and December 2015. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling method. HAPA inventory was administered to 203 Isfahan diabetics. Intentions, outcome expectancies, risk perception, action self-efficacy, action and coping planning, maintenance and recovery self-efficacy, and dietary style were the constructs measured. Structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 21 was used to test the hypothesis. Results The results based on the common fit indices revealed that the HAPA fitted the data acceptably well among the T2DM patients and within dietary behavior (p<0.001), RMSEA=0.082, CFI=0.903, NFI=0.899). Action self-efficacy was the best predictor of intention (β=2.49, p<0.001). Result revealed action and coping planning (β=5.36, p=0.027) and recovery self-efficacy (β=5.67, p=0.021) significantly predicted behavior. Conclusions Our findings provide preliminary support for the practical usage of the HAPA model for predicting HD intention and behavior among T2DM patients. Randomized controlled trials should be performed in the future in order to involve causality.