APPRAISAL OF ACCESS TO DENTAL SERVICES IN SOUTH EAST OF IRAN USING FIVE AS MODEL

The Challenges of Iran's Type 2 Diabetes Prevention and Control Program

Background:

Incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes are one of the major challenges of Iran health system. Despite policies on diabetes prevention and control, Iran is faced with many problems in prevention and control of this disease at the executive level. This study seeks to identify the problems of Type 2 diabetes prevention and control program in Iran.

Methods:

In this qualitative study, 17 participants were interviewed purposefully. The semi-structured interview guide was designed based on literature review and four initial in-depth interviews. Framework analysis method was used for the analysis of qualitative data.

Results:

Six themes and 29 subthemes explaining the problems of type 2 diabetes prevention and control program were identified: Referral system, human resources, infrastructure, cultural problems, access, and intersectoral coordination issues.

Conclusions:

Despite the well-developed policy of type 2 diabetes prevention and control, the implementation is faced with some problems which endangers the effectiveness of the plan. Any attempt to improve the successful implementation of the type 2 diabetes prevention and control program requires effective measures, deep understanding of the problems and solving them.

Perceived barriers to the preservation and improvement of children's oral health among Iranian women: a qualitative study

AIM

To explore perceptions of Iranian mothers regarding barriers to preserving and improving oral health among their children.

METHODS

The present qualitative study was part of a larger sequential exploratory mixed-method study conducted in Tehran, Iran, from April to May 2015. Data were collected via 10 focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of the perception held by the mothers of school-aged children about barriers to oral health improvement. Sampling was purposive and was continued until data saturation was reached. The study population consisted of 58 Iranian women who had at least one child in school. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis.

RESULTS

Three key themes of oral health barriers were identified as follows: (1) barriers in the system or at the organisational level, (2) barriers at the provider level, and (3) barriers at the family level. Informants reported cost, lack of full-coverage insurance, low access to dental services, and fear and anxiety as the main barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

The major barriers to oral health care were fear and the cost of dental treatments. These predictors need to be addressed when designing programs to increase access of children to dental services.