Feasibility of Implementing the Health Promoting Hospital's Program in Iranian Educational Hospitals: Predictors from the Health Professional's Prospects

The Health Promoting Hospitals (HPH) initiative emphasizes on changes in traditional hospitals’ approach in care provision. This study aimed to provide scientific evidence required for successful planning and implementation of the HPH in the country’s educational hospitals. In this descriptive-analytical study, opinions of 300 frontline health professionals working in the ten educational hospitals affiliated to the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were examined using validated tools in 2016. Descriptive data analysis procedures and logistic regression analysis (using Enter method) were applied by SPSS software version 22. The level of significance was considered less than 0.05. The mean scores and SD for applicability of the HPH standards were 66.06±17.51. Gender (OR=3.19 95%CI: 1.33- 8.40), occupation type (OR= 1.50 95% CI: 0.65- 0.70), hospital type (general vs. specialized) (OR= 1.59 95%CI: 1.10- 1.25), number of active beds (OR=3.84 95% CI: 1.56-9.42) and having prior knowledge about the HPH program (OR=2.81 95% CI: 1.31-4.80) were identified as significant predictors of the HPH standards’ feasibility in the studied hospitals. Given that study findings, at least the baseline subjective inclination to adapt the HPH standards in the educational hospitals do not exist through the Iranian health care providers’ points of view. As the first step in progress towards preparation for implementing the HPH standards, planning of tailor-made educational programs for hospitals’ staff in Iran is recommended.