Identification of Basic Indicators for Monitoring and Assessment of the Sixth Development Plan in the Health Sector

Many health problems and the slow progress of development plans root in the absence of indicators to measure and monitor the achievement of the goals. This study aimed to identify the categorized indicators for monitoring and assessment of goal achievement in the Sixth Development Plan in the health sector. This qualitative applied study was conducted in the following stages: Identifying the goals of the Sixth Development Plan in the health sector; identifying the inputs and outputs of the programs; initial compilation of indicators; evaluation of the indicators, and designing a conceptual model for health policy assessment. During the implementation of the study, the qualitative methods including high-level documents examination, literature review, and expert consensus were used. After being analyzed, the content of the development plan was divided into 12 topics. Then, a set of indicators were determined for each topic, which led to the emergence of 80 indicators after the final analysis. The highest score was related to the maternal and child health indicators (giving the scores of more than 63 out of 70). Concerning its generalities and details, the progress evaluation of the sixth development plan can be done using small to large-scale indicators. The optimal mode is to compile indicators for each level individually and professionally.