Developing a conceptual model of social determinants of health inequalities: A qualitative study

Unequal distribution of health in the developing countries is one of the main challenges of health systems. This leads to inequality in social status، living conditions and social interventions of the government''s efforts to fail. Current study aimed to develop a conceptual model of social determinants of health inequalities in Iran with a qualitative approach.

This study was a qualitative content analysis. The participants were consisted of 33 experts of social determinants of health field which were selected through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interview was used for data collections. Directed content analysis with Nvivo software was conducted.

This study resulted in 14 themes and 55 sub-themes as determinants of inequality on health in Iran. Main themes were disasters، socio-economic status، macroeconomic policies، leadership، social policies، public policies، culture and social values، social protection، social cohesion، religious، international factors، behavioural and biological factors، psychological factors، health system and socio demographic factors.

Inequalities in health can be avoidable due to its main determinants of economic status، education، employments. Hence social factors determining health approach، is suggested to formulate macro-economic and social policies in the country and it requires more attention.