Analysis of Physicians' Retention Policies in Deprived Areas of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The concentration of physicians in urban areas and the lack of specialist physicians in deprived ‎areas is a global challenge. It is necessary to adopt specific, scientific and evidence-based policies ‎to increase the health sector’s resources and reduce inequality in the distribution and allocation of ‎these resources in different regions of the‏ ‏country. The Ministry of Health and Medical ‎Education, as the most important custodian of planning and policy-making for distribution of ‎specialized manpower in Iran, has designed policies.

This study aimed to analyze the incentive ‎policies for the retaining physicians in deprived areas of the country. This study has a qualitative ‎‎– retrospective design to analyze the most effective policies using the Walt and Gilson policy ‎model. Various methods were used to analyze the policies, including reviewing texts and ‎documents.

Findings of the study were classified based on the policy context, policy content, ‎policy-making process and role makers in the four law (policies or plan) of service of physicians ‎and paramedics, family physician plan, health transformation plan, and instructions on how to ‎distribute the Specialized medical graduates. Five legal, political-economic, socio-cultural, ‎international and structural factors were identified as policy making factors‏. ‏‎ In addition, ‎attention to upstream documents and the use of evidence in policy-making were identified as ‎strong points, and stakeholder ignorance and a top-down approach to planning were identified as ‎common weak points of policies.

Considering the priority of needs, provision of resources and ‎requirements, constructive interaction of planners, and continuous evaluation of programs are ‎required to formulate and implement policies and interventions.