Exploring the views of medical staff in transforming a hospital into a health promoting hospital in Iran: a qualitative research

ABSTRACT Objectives: One of the current concerns of hospitals is how to become a health promoting hospital (HPH). This qualitative research aimed at exploring the views of members of the medical staff in two Iran hospitals about the defined standards to transform the hospitals into a health promoting one. Methods: The research reported in this paper was a content analysis qualitative study. The license numbered (IR.UMSHA.REC.1395.388) was obtained from the ethics committee of Hamadan Medical Science University. Sampling was carried out through the snowballing method. Also, 55 interviews were conducted with the members of the medical staff. To collect data, the semi-structured interview guide was used based on the standards of HPHs. The framework analysis method was used to analyze the data qualitatively. Results: From three central questions on the basis of the main study question, nine themes were earned. Policies governing the hospitals were in the direction of converting them to health promoting organizations including the creation of a health promoting work environment, empowering personnel and health promoting corporate culture. Also, suggestions to create a HPH included improving management, paying attention to patients and their satisfaction, as well as increasing effective interpersonal relationships in the hospital. Conclusion: The findings showed that it can be a key strategy in this field to use staff’s solutions for the existing problems and their opinions on the challenges against establishing the standards for HPHs. People usually accept more comfortable and easy changes in decision-making and implementing processes of which they are involved.