The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis
Background and Aim: Medical tourism refers to travel for receiving health services abroad. The COVID-19 crisis affected a wide range of tourism-related businesses, including medical tourism, and caused a decrease in the supply and demand of health services in this market. This study aimed to investi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fas |
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Tehran University of Medical Sciences
2023-01-01
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| Series: | پیاورد سلامت |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://payavard.tums.ac.ir/article-1-7336-en.pdf |
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| author | Rahil Nahari Saeed Hashemzadeh Ehsan Zarei |
| author_facet | Rahil Nahari Saeed Hashemzadeh Ehsan Zarei |
| author_sort | Rahil Nahari |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Aim: Medical tourism refers to travel for receiving health services abroad. The COVID-19 crisis affected a wide range of tourism-related businesses, including medical tourism, and caused a decrease in the supply and demand of health services in this market. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2021. The data used in this study were extracted from the information system of the Ministry of Health from 2018 to 2021, which includes the number, origin, and destination of medical tourists, per capita revenue, and monthly revenue two years before and one and a half years after the COVID-19 pandemic. For data analysis, t-tests of independent groups and interrupted time series regression were used in SPSS and EViews 10 software.
Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a 42% decrease in the average monthly number of medical tourists, a 45% decrease in the monthly revenue, and a 10% decrease in the per capita income per tourist (P<0.05). The arrival of medical tourists from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman has decreased by more than 80%, and the largest decrease in the number of tourists has been related to Ahvaz, Urmia, Tabriz, and Shiraz. In all diagnostic groups except obstetrics and gynecology, there has been a decrease between 50 to 70% The declining trend of medical tourism indicators was stopped in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued as a constant trend.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 crisis has hurt the number of international patients and their revenue in Iran. Relative success in controlling COVID-19 can return to a pre-pandemic situation that requires appropriate policies and administrative measures by government and industry players, such as policies to facilitate patient entry, marketing measures, branding and creating a positive image of the country to potential clients, use of telemedicine facilities for consultations and follow-up, etc. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:37:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5980d8cd95d84159ab7128c9f068c592 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1735-8132 2008-2665 |
| language | fas |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:37:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Tehran University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | پیاورد سلامت |
| spelling | doaj.art-5980d8cd95d84159ab7128c9f068c5922023-06-19T06:41:46ZfasTehran University of Medical Sciencesپیاورد سلامت1735-81322008-26652023-01-01166515525The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series AnalysisRahil Nahari0Saeed Hashemzadeh1Ehsan Zarei2 Master of Science in Health Services Management, Virtual School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ph.D. in Health Psychology, Shahid Mostafa Khomeini Hospital, Tehran, Iran Assistant Professor, Department of Health Services Management, Virtual School of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Background and Aim: Medical tourism refers to travel for receiving health services abroad. The COVID-19 crisis affected a wide range of tourism-related businesses, including medical tourism, and caused a decrease in the supply and demand of health services in this market. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2021. The data used in this study were extracted from the information system of the Ministry of Health from 2018 to 2021, which includes the number, origin, and destination of medical tourists, per capita revenue, and monthly revenue two years before and one and a half years after the COVID-19 pandemic. For data analysis, t-tests of independent groups and interrupted time series regression were used in SPSS and EViews 10 software. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a 42% decrease in the average monthly number of medical tourists, a 45% decrease in the monthly revenue, and a 10% decrease in the per capita income per tourist (P<0.05). The arrival of medical tourists from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman has decreased by more than 80%, and the largest decrease in the number of tourists has been related to Ahvaz, Urmia, Tabriz, and Shiraz. In all diagnostic groups except obstetrics and gynecology, there has been a decrease between 50 to 70% The declining trend of medical tourism indicators was stopped in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued as a constant trend. Conclusion: The COVID-19 crisis has hurt the number of international patients and their revenue in Iran. Relative success in controlling COVID-19 can return to a pre-pandemic situation that requires appropriate policies and administrative measures by government and industry players, such as policies to facilitate patient entry, marketing measures, branding and creating a positive image of the country to potential clients, use of telemedicine facilities for consultations and follow-up, etc.http://payavard.tums.ac.ir/article-1-7336-en.pdfcovid-19tourismmedical tourismtrend analysis |
| spellingShingle | Rahil Nahari Saeed Hashemzadeh Ehsan Zarei The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis پیاورد سلامت covid-19 tourism medical tourism trend analysis |
| title | The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis |
| title_full | The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis |
| title_short | The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Medical Tourism in Iran: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis |
| title_sort | impact of the covid 19 pandemic on medical tourism in iran an interrupted time series analysis |
| topic | covid-19 tourism medical tourism trend analysis |
| url | http://payavard.tums.ac.ir/article-1-7336-en.pdf |
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