Background Primary health care is the entry point to the health-care system and regarded as an essential step to achieving universal health coverage. The present study aimed at evaluating the quality of health-care services provided in health centers in Mashhad, Iran. Methods This was a cross-sectional study implemented among 200 health service users who were referring to four health centers in Mashhad during January to June 2019. The quality of services in health centers was evaluated with the SERVQUAL and HEALTHQUAL models. Data was analyzed by employing paired t-test and independent sample t-test using SPSS version 16 software. The Levene test was used for examining the equality of variance (homogeneity). Significance level of all the tests was considered when p ≤ 0.05. Results According to the results of SERVQUAL questionnaire, the average scores of health service users’ expectations and perceptions were 4.97 and 3.26, respectively, and the quality gap in the provided services was equal to − 1.7. Based on HEALTHQUAL questionnaire, the average scores of health service users’ perception and expectations were 4.72 and 3.25, respectively, and the quality gap in the provided services was equal to − 1.16. Empathy was the highest quality dimension (− 2.019) based on SERVQUAL model, and efficiency dimension was the highest based on HEALTHQUAL model (− 1.761). Conclusions The findings of the current study showed a negative gap between the service users’ expectations and perceptions in both models. Therefore, the results of this study helps the health managers and policymakers to plan effective interventions for improving the provided services emphasizing the dimensions with the wider gaps.

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Background & Aims: Given the clear role of education in the economic development process of countries, the economics of higher education and the move towards realizing costs have been fundamentally changed as one of the pillars of the package of "Moving Towards Third Generation Universities" in the Medical Education Transformation Plan. Estimation and analysis of students' educational costs can help managers and investors of the education system make more informed decisions by providing information related to the actual performance of activity units. Given the lack of financial resources and budget and the growing increase in costs, the higher education systems have no choice but to adopt new solutions to use resources optimally and manage costs in order to survive and continue favorable activities. In universities of medical sciences affiliated to the ministry of health, a considerable part of students' education occurs in healthcare centers under the supervision of the universities, which imposes costs on the system. With this background in mind, this study aimed to analyze the educational costs of students of nursing-midwifery school in independent hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Materials & Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional research with a retrospective design, which aimed to estimate the direct costs of nursing and midwifery students' education based on the level of education. The participants were selected by consensus sampling and all educational groups of the nursing and midwifery school of Iran University of Medical Sciences, who had educational activities in independent healthcare training centers of the university, were entered into the study based on the curricula approved by the ministry. The

Background Studying and monitoring the efficiency of primary health care centers has a special place in the health system. Although studies have been conducted in the field of efficiency in Iran, few have focused on rural primary health care centers. In addition, previous studies have not used the child mortality rate and Behvarzes as input and output. Objective The present study was conducted aimed to estimate the technical efficiency of rural primary health care centers and determinant factors in Hamadan using data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression. Methods This is a Longitudinal study of rural primary health care centers in Hamadan province (2002–2016). Data Envelopment Analysis was employed to estimate technical efficiency of sampled health facilities while Panel Tobit Analysis was applied to predict factors associated with efficiency levels. The outputs were child mortality rate under 1 year of age and child mortality rate 1 year to 5 years of age. The input was Behvarzes (rural health workers). Results The results of efficiency analysis showed that the average efficiency scores of the centers had a fluctuating trend during the period of the study, but the average performance scores generally decreased in 2016, as compared with 2002. The highest and lowest average performance scores were observed in 2003 (0.78) and 2013 (0.56), respectively. Number of physicians and rural primary healthcare centers per population had a positive statistically significant and the number of midwives and the total fertility per population had a negative statistically significant effect on efficiency. Conclusions The findings suggest some level of wastage of health resources in primary health centers. Findings indicate a level of waste of health resources in primary health centers. Behvarz functions in providing primary care services can be considered in the reallocation and optimal use of available resources at the level of rural health centers.

Introduction The implementation of a dashboard enables managers to make informed and evidence-based decisions through data visualization and graphical presentation of information. This study aimed to design and implement a COVID-19 management dashboard in a third-level hospital in Mashhad, Iran. Materials and Methods This descriptive developmental applied study was conducted in the second half of 2020 in three stages, using user-centered design methodology in four phases: (1) specification of the application context, (2) specification of requirements, (3) creation of design solutions, and (4) evaluation of designs. Data collection in each phase was performed through holding group discussions with the main users, nominal group techniques, interviews, and questioners. The dashboard prototype for the data display was designed using the Power BI Desktop software. Subsequently, users' comments were obtained using the focus group method and included in the dashboard. Results In total, 25 indicators related to input, process, and output areas were identified based on the findings of the first stage. Moreover, eight items were introduced by participants as dashboard requirements. The dashboard was developed based on users' feedback and suggestions, such as the use of colors, reception of periodic and specific reports based on key performance indicators, and rearrangement of the components visible on the page. The result of the user satisfaction survey indicated their satisfaction with the developed dashboard. Conclusion The selection of proper criteria for the implementation of an effective dashboard is critical for the health care organization since they are designed with a high-tech and content-based environment. The dashboard in the present study was a successful combination of clinical and managerial indicators. Future studies should focus on the design and development of dashboards, as well as benchmarking by using data from several hospitals.