Macroeconomic policies and increasing social-health inequality in Iran

Inflation and health: a global scoping review

High levels of economic inflation can adversely affect societies and individuals in many ways. Although numerous studies explore the health implications of macroeconomic factors, systematic investigation of the inflation-health nexus has been scarce. We conducted a comprehensive scoping review mapping the literature on inflation and health. From 8923 screened records, 69 empirical studies were analysed. These studies explored a wide range of health-related risk factors (eg, diet, substance use, stress, and violence) and outcomes (eg, life expectancy, mortality, suicidal behaviour, and mental health) linked to inflation, across diverse contexts and timeframes. The findings suggest a predominantly negative effect of inflation on health, with specific socioeconomic groups facing greater risks. Our Review uncovers notable gaps in the literature, particularly in geographical coverage, methodological approaches, and specific health outcomes. Among global socioeconomic and geopolitical shifts, understanding and mitigating the health effects of inflation is of contemporary relevance and merits thorough academic attention.

Analysis of Casual Relationships between Social Determinants of Health in Iran: Using Fuzzy Cognitive Map

BACKGROUND

Health is a fundamental issue in recent years, highlighting the importance of harmonizing the policies of any sector with health strategies. The present study aims to identify the socio-economic factors affecting health and to provide a cognitive map of the social determinants of health in Iran.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

METHODS

This study follows a developmental process with an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. First, a meta-synthesis qualitative method determines the most critical health determinants by reviewing 54 studies from 2000 to 2019. Then, the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is drawn based on interviews with six experts to derive the causal relationships among the social determinants of population health in Iran.

RESULTS

Stage 1 introduces 170 factors as the health determinants, classified into four levels: individual, local, national, and global levels, with 7, 4, 13, and 3 branches, respectively. According to the causal relationships and the out-degree (od) index, the most effective factors are the economic system (18.24), governance and policy-making (17.13), and national policies (16.93). According to the degree of centrality, these factors are the economic system (33.27), health system (30.37), and governance and policy-making (30.15).

CONCLUSION

Considering health as a complex and comprehensive system, the resulting FCM displays that the policies developed in other sectors than health are profoundly affecting population's health in Iran. Specifically, the comparative analysis of this research shows that policies regarding the economic system and people's livelihood are more effective than the policies regarding the health system itself on the population's health in Iran.

Integrated framework to improve health policy implementation in the way of Iran 2025 vision: Bridging policy to practice gap in developing countries

INTRODUCTION

Health policymaking seems simple; in practice, but, it is very complex. However, this study aimed to provide a framework to bridge the gap between policy and action in order to present an interconnected model for developing countries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a qualitative study. Using desk search, different models were searched from various scientific databases for formulation of an integrated policy-making framework. In next stage, the identified National upstream documents were analyzed to achieve existing policymaking evidence. Then to determine the validity of the initial model and to gather the views of key experts, two Delphi rounds were used. The tool used in Delphi method was a 9-point Likert questionnaire that was sent to the experts via E-mail.

RESULTS

This model, by employing integrated chain of visions and strategic targeting of ultimate aims on the one hand and expected key functions and support functions for generating output (operational goal) on the other, provides an extensive operable insight being influenced by human-Islamic principles and values, social, technological, economic, environmental, and political for strategic as well as operational managers./Policy makers.

CONCLUSION

This framework consisted of general, strategic, and executive levels. It creates the needed institutional and structural capacity to achieve a comprehensive health approach for all laws and policies to control social factors affecting health, improve health situation, and promote the health of citizens.

Ottawa charter framework as a guide for type 2 diabetes prevention and control in Iran

The growth of T2DM in Iran is predicted to be even greater than the global trend. So a new public health movement to effectively prevent and manage T2DM is required more than ever. The solution has lain in the heart of the Ottawa Charter, the first international conference on health promotion more than 30 years ago. The charter contains five useful actions to facilitate the process of diseases prevention and control: 1) building healthy public policy, 2) creating supportive environments, 3) strengthening community action, 4) developing personal skills, and 5) reorienting health care services toward promotion of health. The charter articulates health in all policies and their frameworks. The aim of this review is to examine how the five actions have been implemented in Iran and can serve as a guide to prevent and control diabetes. Several national case studies will be examined to illustrate the challenges facing Iran's health system. It enables the identification and sharing of best practice between countries.

Measuring positive health of Iranians; Finding from Iran social health survey (ISHS)

Background: Positive health as a "health asset" goes beyond risk factors for diseases and produces longer and healthier life, as well as, better prognosis when illness strikes, against traditional medicine focusing on treating people in negative health to a state that is neutral or free from disease. The aim of present study was to conduct a national survey estimating positive health indicators of Iranians Methods: This survey was performed on September 2014 in all provinces of Iran with 10500 samples. The psychometrics of employed scale was examined in separate study. To estimate positive health indicators, each question included a series of declarative statements and each respondents answer to questions based on a five-point Likert type scale. Results: From a total of 10500 respondents, 10244 fulfilled questionnaire (Response rate= 97.5%). About 49% of participants were male. In a scale from 1 to 5, mean of score of life satisfaction, happiness, quality of life, and self-perceived health were 3.45, 3.28, 3.56 and 3.66, respectively. The highest level of positive health indicators was achieved in provinces of Guilan and West Azerbaijan. Conclusion: The result of the study shows majority of Iranian people assess their perception of health, quality of life, life satisfaction and happiness as 'moderate' or 'good' (between 66 to 82% of respondents. It would seem that measured positive health indicators in comparison with the rates of past national studies, have been decreased between 3.5 to 4% that should be noticed in social health policy making.