Identifying and Prioritizing Failure Factors of the Implementation of Health System Policies Using Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, Their Effects, and Analytical Hierarchy Process

Background: After the policies are formulated and approved, they are communicated to the managers for implementation. Several factors lead to the failure of health system policies. In this research, these factors have been identified and ranked. Methods: This was an applied research, and in terms of strategy, it was a survey. The research community consisted of 21 experts in the field of health in the Ministry of Health and universities of medical sciences, who were selected through random and targeted sampling. The tools of data collection were interviews and questionnaires, and to analyze data, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were used. Results: In this research, 4 dimensions of failure factors regarding the implementation of the health system policy were identified, including governance, management, environmental and financial resources, and 23 components of the mentioned dimensions were identified. Moreover, the most important identified failure factors through AHP and FMEA were prioritized and evaluated. Conclusion: Knowledge of failure factors can help to improve the capacity of the implementation of health system policies.