Representing a Model of Health Tourism Supply Chain Risks, Meta-Synthesis Approach and Structural-Interpretive Modeling

In an economy with a supply chain from raw materials to the final product, there may be risks that affect the entire supply chain and cause a critical situation. To date, few studies have identified the risks of the health tourism supply chain, the results of which show contradictions. Therefore, this study endeavored to do meta-synthesis and model the risks of the health tourism supply chain.

In the first stage, the meta-synthesis qualitative method was used and keywords such as health tourism supply chain risks, healthcare tourism supply chain risks, medical tourism supply chain risks were sought for in databases Google Scholar, Web of science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Emerald insight, ProQuest, SID reviewed. In the second stage, using the structural-interpretive modeling method, the identified risks model was developed.

Using the meta-synthesis method, risks were categorized into seven concept codes, which are supply, process, organizational, industry, network, end customer and environmental risks. Besides, the results of structural-interpretive modeling showed environmental risks as the efficient and organizational risks, network, process and supply as the effective risks.

Examining the risks of the health tourism supply chain is important for countries interested in developing and improving the quality of the industry. Besides, managers, policymakers, and planners in the field of health tourism should take into account the benefits of risk identification and analysis at the supply chain level, because it helps health systems to achieve supply chain management goals and competitive advantage.