Challenges related to health provider’s empowerment working in the urban primary health service center: a qualitative content analysis study

Empowerment of health providers is widely recognized as a critical factor in enhancing healthcare quality and outcomes. If the capabilities of health providers are not sufficient to the demands of their profession, resulting in reduced motivation, creativity, productivity, organizational dedication, job satisfaction, and increased burnout. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the challenges of empowering health providers. The aim of the present study was to investigate challenges related to health provider’s empowerment working in the urban primary health service center in shiraz, Iran. This was a qualitative study using conventional content analysis approach. The participants were selected by purposive sampling method considering maximal variation. fourteen health providers, two supervisor and two family physicians employed in the primary health service center were recruited until data saturation was reached. Data were collected from April to September 2023 through individual in-depth semi-structured interviews, focus groups, unstructured observations and field notes. Findings were analyzed using a conventional method and MAXQDA 2020. All health providers were women. The average age of participants was 32.87 ± 8.85 years, with an age range of 24–42 years. According to data analysis, 3 main categories including “Inadequacy of health providers training process”, “inefficient management of organization resources” and “weakness in professional performance “with 11 sub categories were developed. This research offered more profound insights into health providers’ challenges to empowerment at the primary health service center. We recommend that health policymakers prioritize the development and implementation of continuous, up-to-date training programs tailored specifically to the evolving roles of primary health providers. Not applicable.