Discrimination in Healthcare: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study

Discrimination in healthcare is one of the important challenges of health system managers in different countries so; discrimination is the main outcome of a lack of justice in health. Therefore, the whole exploring the discrimination in healthcare and determining effective policies is essential. This study was conducted to explore the experiences of health care providers of discrimination in healthcare.

This qualitative content analysis study was conducted between 2019 and 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 participants include healthcare in one general and one private hospital in the city of Tehran. The participants were selected by purposive sampling, which continued until saturation of data. Data obtained were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman's method.

After analyzing the data, three main categories and seven sub-categories emerged: 1. Organizational coercion (organizational procedures, Lack of manpower); 2. Moral negligence (Lack of attention to human values, Lack of knowledge of the principles of medical ethics); 3. Positive discrimination (Provide some facilities for the patient, Perform some additional services for the patient and Work history.) Ethical Considerations: The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences University with the code of ethics: IR.USWR.REC.1398.023.

Based on the findings of the study, senior managers of the health system can review the organizational process of health care delivery and focus on increasing the level of awareness of health care providers such as physicians and nurses about the principles of medical ethics. Also, it is recommended that managers consider meritocracy policies as one of their decision criteria.