Research Priorities in a Military Health Organization Using Multi Criteria Decision Making Techniques

The goal of this study was to identify and rank the research priorities of a military health organization. This is a mixed and cross-sectional study that was done in 2013. Sample population included 24 senior managers، 32 middle managers and 15 mangers of clinics of a military health organization in Iran that were selected by purposive sampling. In qualitative section، data gathering was performed by means of interview and questionnaire. In addition، data analysis was conducted using qualitative framework analysis. In quantitative section، the criteria were prioritized using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Then، the topics were ranked via TOPSIS. 191 topics were identified and divided into seven scopes of healthcare، treatment، education، rescue and transference، human resources، drug and medical equipment along with planning and information technology. Next، they were ranked in terms of criteria including time priority، accordance with organizational goals، applicability and usefulness. To prevent from waste of research resources in the organization، allocation of assets should be based on research priorities. Such a device can assist organization in achieving the goals.