Elements of management and leadership strengthening in health systems: a qualitative study from Iran

Purpose The importance of management capacity in the health sector has been increasingly recognized. World Health Organization (WHO) (2008) claimed that limited “management capacity” low-income countries is one main obstacles toward achieving health-related goals. aim this study to answer research question: “What are elements and leadership senior managers from perspective managers.” Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 20 managers. Sampling method was purposive. Data collected using a researcher-made interview guide. transcribed text analyzed framework analysis. Findings Five themes emerged analysis are: (1) competencies required for managers; (2) selection appointment (3) establishment managers' database; (4) deployment functional support system; (5) environmental sensitivity. Each these contains sub-themes. Research limitations/implications Due COVID-19 pandemic, virtually. This may have had an impact on obtaining wealthy data because face-to-face interview, it possible question answer, get additional explanations understand interviewee's mentality. Practical implications Extracting helps assess comprehensively effectively. In addition, effective useful operations can be done strengthen capacity. Originality/value first identified Iran. article provides components system used at top level.