Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on HIV and hepatitis B testing in Western Iran: insights from an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare systems worldwide, affecting the delivery of essential diagnostic services. HIV and HBV testing services, critical for the timely detection and management of these diseases, experienced substantial declines during the pandemic. This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV and HBV testing rates in western Iran.

Challenges in adopting health technology assessment for evidence-based policy in Iran: a qualitative study.

Background: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is a vital tool for evidence-based healthcare decision-making, yet its adoption in Iran remains limited despite its potential to improve policy and resource allocation. This qualitative study explores the challenges hindering the integration of HTA into Iran's healthcare system, providing insights from key stakeholders.

Methods: A qualitative research design was employed, using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 23 stakeholders, including health policymakers, HTA experts, and healthcare professionals.

Interrupted time series analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on emergency and elective surgeries in Iranian hospitals.

Background: Emergency and elective surgeries are vital for saving lives and enhancing patient wellbeing. However, COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the provision of surgical services in Iranian hospitals and globally.

Aim: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on emergency and elective surgical care in Iranian hospitals.

Navigating barriers to health technology assessment development in Iran: a qualitative exploration of stakeholder perspectives.

Background: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) plays a crucial role in informing healthcare policy and decision-making, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Iran. Despite its potential, the development of HTA in Iran faces significant barriers due to political, financial, technical, and social challenges. This study aims to explore stakeholder perspectives on the barriers hindering HTA development in Iran and to identify strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

Social network analysis of key stakeholders in Brucellosis prevention in Western Iran.

Background: Brucellosis remains a persistent public health challenge in Iran, particularly in rural regions such as Lorestan province, due to systemic, economic, and cultural barriers. Effective disease control requires multisectoral collaboration among stakeholders. This study aimed to map the stakeholder network involved in brucellosis prevention in Lorestan province, identify gaps in coordination, and provide actionable recommendations for improving control strategies.

The economic burden of breast cancer in western Iran: a cross-sectional cost-of-illness study.

Background: Breast cancer is a significant global health challenge, affecting millions annually and imposing a considerable burden on healthcare systems and economies worldwide. This cross-sectional study aims to determine the economic impact of breast cancer in Lorestan Province, western Iran.

Methods: A retrospective cost-of-illness analysis utilizing a cross-sectional design was performed from November 2023 to July 2024.

Assessing the development of health technology assessment in Iran: a policy analysis using Kingdon's Multiple streams framework: a qualitative study.

Background: Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is crucial for optimizing healthcare investments and improving system efficiency. In Iran, the rising costs of healthcare technologies and systemic inefficiencies have highlighted the need for a structured HTA framework. However, despite academic discussions, HTA has not yet been fully integrated into formal health policy.

The impact of Covid-19 on harm reduction policies in Iran: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: The global emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems, disrupting routine services and necessitating swift adaptations. Harm reduction programs, vital for addressing substance use-related health risks, faced unique challenges during the pandemic, impacting vulnerable populations. This study focuses on the repercussions of Covid-19 on harm reduction policies in Iran, specifically examining the distribution of condoms, syringes, and methadone to high-risk individuals attending Triangle Centers.

Assessing equity in the distribution of hospital beds in Lorestan, western Iran: a regional analysis.

Background: Equity in health service delivery ensures that resources are distributed based on need, minimizing barriers to access and reducing health disparities. Hospital beds are a critical healthcare resource, essential for providing timely and effective medical care. This study aims to evaluate the equity in the distribution of hospital beds in Lorestan Province, western Iran, using the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve as analytical tools.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on outpatient visits for patients with cancer in Iran: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to healthcare systems worldwide, affecting routine medical services, including for cancer patients. This study investigates the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on outpatient visits for patients with cancer in Iran.

Methods: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis (ITSA) on data collected from electronic medical records.

Unleashing the potential: the imperative of political support for health technology assessment in Iran.

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is essential for evidence-based healthcare decision-making, yet its integration into Iran's healthcare system faces political and logistical challenges. Despite HTA's potential to improve resource allocation, limited awareness, data gaps, and competing priorities hinder its implementation. This commentary emphasizes the need for political support, advocating capacity-building, collaboration, and alignment with long-term health policies.

The economic burden of prostate cancer in Iran: a cross-sectional cost-of-illness study.

Objective: This study aims to assess the economic burden of prostate cancer in Iran by analyzing direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs. We conducted a cross-sectional cost-of-illness study in Khorramabad, located in western Iran, during 2023, using a prevalence-based, bottom-up approach. Data were collected from 285 prostate cancer patients using questionnaires, interviews, and patient records.

Exploring the landscape of health technology assessment in Iran: perspectives from stakeholders on needs, demand and supply.

Background: The evaluation of health technologies plays a crucial role in the allocation of resources and the promotion of equitable healthcare access, known as health technology assessment (HTA). This study focuses on Iran's efforts to integrate HTA and aims to gain insights into stakeholder perspectives regarding capacity needs, demand and implementation.

Methods: In this study, we employed the HTA introduction status analysis questionnaire developed by the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI), which has been utilized in various countries.

Overuse of computed tomography for mild head injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) scan is a common imaging technique used to evaluate the severity of a head injury. The overuse of diagnostic interventions in the health system is a growing concern worldwide. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the rate of CT scan overuse in cases of mild head injury.

Prevalence of HIV in slums area: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) remains a significant global health burden, particularly affecting vulnerable populations residing in slum areas which is characterized by overcrowding, poverty, and limited access to healthcare services, create an environment conducive to the transmission and spread of HIV. Despite the recognition of this issue, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the prevalence of HIV in slums. The aim of this study was to systematically synthesize the existing global evidence on HIV prevalence in slum populations.

Prevalence of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has a benign course in several patients; however, a serious form of this disease can turn into liver failure, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of NAFLD in Iran.

Method: We searched the following databases from January 2000 to December 2022: Scopus, Pubmed/Medline, Embase, Web of Sciences, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar also a number of Iranian databases, namely MagIran, SID, and Elmnet.

The impact of the Iranian health transformation plan policy on equitable access to medical imaging services in West Iran.

Objective: Equity in the delivery of health services, including diagnostic imaging, is crucial to achieving universal health coverage. The Health Transformation Plan (HTP), launched in 2014, represents a major healthcare policy to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare services. This study aimed to explore the impact of the HTP on equity in the access to medical imaging in Lorestan province, located in west Iran, from 2014 to 2023.

Analysis and evolution of health policies in Iran through policy triangle framework during the last thirty years: a systematic review of the historical period from 1994 to 2021.

Background: Health policy analysis as a multi-disciplinary approach to public policy illustrates the need for interventions that highlight and address important policy issues, improve the policy formulation and implementation process and lead to better health outcomes. Various theories and frameworks have been contributed as the foundation for the analysis of policy in various studies. This study aimed to analyze health policies during the historical period of the almost last 30 years in Iran using policy triangle framework.

The role of Iran's context for the development of health technology assessment: challenges and solutions.

Health technology assessment (HTA) is a comprehensive and structured evaluation that aims to analyze the potential impacts of health technologies, including medical devices, diagnostic tools, pharmaceuticals, and public health interventions. Its purpose is to provide policymakers with evidence-based information to inform decisions related to the utilization and implementation of these technologies. HTA allows for the comparison of various scenarios related to a technology across a wide range of factors.

Hepatitis B vaccination in Iran: Historical policies and programs.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a main challenge of the health system worldwide. Health policymakers in most countries attempt to help HBV patients by implementing support programs in addition to controlling HBV in their community so that the economic burden caused by HBV do not deprive the patients of accessing health services and reducing their quality of life. There are several health interventions for the prevention and control of HBV.

Financial Protection Indexes and the Iranian Health Transformation Plan: A Systematic Review.

: On May 5, 2014, the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education launched the Health Transformation Plan (HTP) as a major healthcare reform to curb out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses and protect people from catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs). Therefore, in this study, we conducted a comprehensive literature search with the aim of systematically investigating the impacts of HTP on OOP and CHE after the implementation of the plan. : Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Iranian bibliographic thesauri and repositories such as MagIran, Elmnet, and Scientific Information Database were searched.

The Impact of the Social Distancing Policy on COVID-19 Incidence Cases and Deaths in Iran from February 2020 to January 2021: Insights from an Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

: In December 2019, a viral outbreak occurred in China, and rapidly spread out worldwide. Due to the lack of immediately available vaccines and effective drugs, many policy- and decision-makers have focused on non-pharmacological methods, including social distancing. This study was aimed at assessing the effects of the implementation of this policy in Iran, one of the countries most affected by COVID-19.

Assessing Iran's health system according to the COVID-19 strategic preparedness and response plan of the World Health Organization: health policy and historical implications.

Background: The role of health systems in the management of disasters, including natural hazards like outbreaks and pandemics, is crucial and vital. Healthcare systems which are unprepared to properly deal with crises are much more likely to expose their public health workers and health personnel to harm and will not be able to deliver healthcare provisions in critical situations. This can lead to a drammatic toll of deaths, even in developed countries.

The 'Health Transformation Plan' in Iran: A policy to achieve universal health coverage in slums and informal settlement areas.

Universal health coverage (UHC) is one of the strategies that health decision- and policy-makers worldwide are implementing to guarantee a good health status to everyone. Living in slums is characterized by several issues, including homelessness and malnutrition, environmental challenges, lack of sanitation and access to safe, healthy drinking water, waste disposal problems, widespread social disruptions, job insecurity, feelings of dissatisfaction and inadequacy. In Iran, the 'Health Transformation Plan' (HTP), despite its weaknesses, has had good effects on the health level of people living in slums, ensuring insurance coverage and reducing many economic, social and cultural problems, with a dramatic decline in out-of-pocket expenditures.

Prevalence of self-medication in university students: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Self-medication can lead to serious consequences but its overall prevalence in students is not known.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-medication in students through a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the prevalence of self-medication in students across the world.

Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI/Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched up to October 2017.