The Acquired Experiences of World Health Organization Collaborating Centers in Iran: the Analysis of the Existing Condition, Investigation of the Problems, and Recommendations

Taking into account the roles and positions of WHO Collaborating Centers (WHOCCs) in the furtherance of national goals and the great impact of their interaction as well as cooperative relations between these centres, this study was conducted to assess the current status of WHOCCs, identify opportunities and threats, and provide practical solutions to solve WHOCCs problems.
This cross-sectional study was conducted using an open-ended questionnaire in 2014. The questionnaire revolved around the WHOCC's status in terms of goal achievement, manpower problems, financial resources, communications, as well as suggestions to solve problems in these domains. These findings were approved in the second convention of the heads of WHOCCs in Kerman in 2014 and the questionnaires of the second phase were distributed and completed by participants. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method.
The majority of the centres assessed their performance regarding the national goals (11.59) in comparison with international goals (14.20), and self-regulated goal setting (14.7o) in an unfavorable condition. Financial problems and lack of recruitment were the most important problems for WHOCCs. The support of the Ministry of Health, WHO, supporting universities, and establishing research networks at national and international levels to foster communication, contracts to share experiences and resources, considering the author's rights as well as introducing the competencies of centres at national and international levels, were some of the suggestions proposed.
It seems that more support of the WHO, Ministry of Health, and supporting universities is needed to increase financial resources and recruit staff.