Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (Jun 2024)
Explaining the Health Management Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences: A Summative Content Analysis
Abstract
Background and purpose: One of the response areas of Iran's health system in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is the area of health and prevention. In many countries of the world, the primary strategy against COVID-19 is prevention and health, and this issue was considered before treatment. Considering that the COVID-19 pandemic was a new event and a new experience for health systems around the world, there is a need to investigate the different effects of this emerging phenomenon in different populations. Therefore, this study was conducted to explain the experiences of the health management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and methods: This applied research was conducted in terms of the qualitative paradigm and by the method of summative content analysis. In this study, semi-structured interviews and existing documents of university vice-chancellors during the COVID-19 pandemic were used. In this study, interviews were conducted with 16 officials of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (The president of the university, vice president of health, health managers, doctors, experts of health centers, and also experts who worked in the university headquarters in the department of health vice) and a three-hour focus group of 15 people. The participants were selected based on the goal of maximum diversity. For the validity and strength of the study, the criteria proposed by Goba and Lincoln were used. The researcher tried to increase the credibility of the research with long-term involvement and sufficient interaction with the participants, collecting valid information and confirming the information by the participants. The researcher tried to increase the reliability of the data by repeating step by step and collecting and analyzing the data, taking advantage of the review by the experts. To increase the data Confirmability criteria, the approval of the associate professors of the project and their supplementary comments were used. To be able to transfer the data of the study, the researcher tried to provide a rich description of the research report to evaluate and applicability of the research in other fields so that other researchers can also be able to understand the data and achieve the same, as well as the participation quotes. The participants were presented in the same way as said. In this study, MAXQDA software was used for data analysis. Results: From the data analysis, two main layers (health challenges, preventive and coping strategies) and eight sub-layers (challenge of lack/delay in receiving health-treatment services, epidemiological challenge, health management challenge, vaccination challenge, strategies Receive health-treatment services on time to promote community health, epidemiological strategies, strategies for implementation of health guidelines, strategies for implementation of COVID-19 vaccination) and twenty-six sub-categories were extracted. Conclusion: Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, by holding decision-making meetings and coordinating various health units, in line with the policies of the ministry, providing suitable solutions for prevention and countermeasures. The results of this study can be used to teach other university officials to deal with other emerging diseases and the future planning of health policymakers. It is suggested to conduct a study comparing the rate of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine in normal people and medical staff and related factors at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.
