Stakeholders\' perspective on health equity and its indicators in Iran

Background: In this regard, in Iran a plan was developed and accordingly 52 indicators to measure equity inhealth were developed and announced by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with other sectors.This study aims to obtain a deeper understanding of the development of health equity indicators andidentify their implementation challenges and proposed solutions from the perspective of policy makersand executives responsible for the indicators development and implementation.To reduce the health inequity, it is necessary to measure and monitor these inequalities.MethodsStakeholders involved in the development and implementation of these health equity indicators (atnational and provincial levels), and the review and analysis of relevant documents including meetingminutes, working plans and working progress reports. Data were analyzed using a framework analysisapproach.: In this qualitative study, data were gathered using semi-structured interviews with 15Resultsthe use of health equity indicators and process of indicators development, challenges ofdevelopment and implementation of the indicators and laying the groundwork for the establishmentof indicators. The findings showed that policy makers' viewpoint on concepts and indicators is differentfrom those of executives and their perceptions have little in common. The establishment ofindicators requires accurate stakeholders' understanding and accurate insight into the issue of equityin health, political will, financing, training and empowerment of organization's employees, legal requirements,and finally a clear action plan.: Four main themes were identified, including the concept of equity in health and its importance,Conclusionand executives. As the attention has been focused recently on the issue, in addition to knowledgeimprovement, proper solutions with an intersect oral collaboration approach in order to tackle challengesshould be considered.: The development of the indicators requires a shared understanding among policy makers