Equity in the Health System: An Overview on National Development Plans

Equity in health implies that all the individuals who need healthcare services must be able to access them timely and adequately. The present study aimed to assess the role and trend of equity in development and implementation of development plans in the health sector. This review study was conducted in databases, such as Magiran, IranMedex, website of Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, and website of Parliament of Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2014. For this purpose, we searched keywords, such as strategy, health, and equity, in a five-year period (1988-2014). Finally, 26 related documents were selected. According to the results, the first development plan stressed rural areas and deprived regions of the country. In the second and third plans, in addition to what was emphasized in the first plan, increasing services efficiency and necessity for optimal application of healthcare facilities were considered, as well. Eventually, distributive equity, family physician, and referral system were focused in the fourth and fifth plans. In conclusion, tracking the changes through the study years revealed that emphasis was put more on process rather than structure. Individuals’ needs and expectations are changing and satisfying them fairly requires deeper look into various sectors of the society for development and implementation of development plans.