Primary health care management model for the elderly in Iran

The objective of this study is to develop a model for managing primary health care (PHC) services for the elderly in Iran. This study consists of four main steps. Firstly, comparative research was conducted by reviewing literature and analyzing content from the top 10 countries ranked in the Global Age Watch Insights 2018. Secondly, a questionnaire was developed using items extracted from experts' opinions, which were evaluated for content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI). Thirdly, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 248 participants from April 8th to July 14th, 2021, and the reliability of the data was analyzed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Lastly, Bartlett's and KMO tests, the Varimax method, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to select and arrange the items and main themes of the model. The analyses were performed using SPSS version 21 and AMOS 24 software. The comparative research and literature review yielded a total of 70 items for the model. Through content analysis, CVI, and CVR, the number of items was reduced to 52. After conducting reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha (0.934) and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the final model consisted of 48 items and five main themes: planning, organization, control, financing, and coordination. The findings indicate that the designed model has good construct validity. Therefore, managers, policymakers, and health planners can utilize this model for the planning, development, and improvement of PHC services for the elderly.