Factors Related to Health Tourism Supply Chain (Case Study of Yazd, Iran)

Abstract

Introduction: Supply chain management (SCM) is one of the management approaches to provide products and services to users in a timely manner. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors related to health tourism supply chain in Yazd, Iran using structural equation modeling (SEM). Methods: This was a descriptive study. To collect the data, a survey approach was used that included the opinions of health experts and tourists. To develop the survey instrument, library studies and Delphi method were used, which according to the experts, 37 final factors were used to design the questionnaire. Ensuring the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, 330 health tourists in Yazd were solicited through the survey. Using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), 7 major components were extracted and named based on items; this way, a structural model of the study was formed, which was fitted in the process of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the significance of the components was confirmed. Results: According to the amount of variance explained, the standards of medical service centers with 32.358, information technology with 14.696, banking with 7.63, attractions with 5.48, international standards with a value of 4.612, the diversity of health services with a value of 2.820, and government programs with a value of 1.952, respectively, had the most significant effect on the health tourism supply chain in Yazd. Conclusion: The final output of this study was a measurement model of health tourism supply chain in Yazd Province, in which the factors were categorized and suggestions were made to improve the factors.

Keywords

• supply chain
• medical tourism
• iran
• structural equation modeling