Factors affecting medical tourism: A case study of Azeri tourists in Iran
Social Determinants of Health,
Vol. 6 (2020),
14 July 2020
,
Page e36
https://doi.org/10.22037/sdh.v6i1.22372
Abstract
Background: Health tourism is one of the effective factors in the economic prosperity of the countries, the beautiful nature and hot springs of Ardebil province makes it a good destination for health tourism. The aim of this study was to investigate demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of health tourists in Ardebil.
Methods: To investigate the viewpoint of health tourists coming to Ardebil province from Azerbaijan, a comprehensive Turkish language questionnaire was designed by the researcher and by visiting medical centers in Ardebil, pharmacies and restaurants, the questionnaires were completed.
Results: Out of 200 distributed questionnaires, 193 were completed. The average age of the participants was 26.2 years. They often had less than 1800 USD monthly income. 184 (95.4%) of participants were not covered by the general insurance of Azerbaijan. The cost of treatment and the total travel cost per person for participants was less than 120 USD. About the hospital services, one-third of respondents rated them as “well”. More than 95% of the tourist were from the near border provinces.
Conclusion: The lack of public insurance coverage in Azerbaijan and the higher value of the Azerbaijani Manat compared to Iranian rial attract health tourists to Ardebil, but the quality of services provided needs to be improved. Government planners need to focus more on health tourism issues, especially in Ardebil so as to improve the infrastructures and remove barriers, it is a step towards the prosperity of this lucrative industry.
- Health Tourism
- Iran
- Azerbaijan
How to Cite
References
Carrera PM, Bridges JF. Globalization and healthcare: understanding health and medical tourism. Expert review of Pharmacoeconomics & outcomes research. 2006;6(4):447-54.
Izadi M, Ayoobian A, Nasiri T, Joneidi N, Fazel M, Hosseinpourfard M. Situation of health tourism in Iran opportunity or threat. Journal Mil Med. 2012;14(2):69-75.
Butler R. Tourism in the future: Cycles, waves or wheels? Futures. 2009;41(6):346-52.
Loh CP. Health tourism on the rise? Evidence from the Balance of Payments Statistics. The European journal of health economics: HEPAC: health economics in prevention and care. 2014;15(7):759-66.
Hofer S, Honegger F, Hubeli J. Health tourism: definition focused on the Swiss market and conceptualization of health(i)ness. Journal of health organization and management. 2012;26(1):60-80.
Loh CP. Trends and structural shifts in health tourism: evidence from seasonal time-series data on health-related travel spending by Canada during 1970-2010. Social science & medicine (1982). 2015;132: 173-80.
Asadi R, Daryaei M. Strategies for development of Iran health tourism. Euro J Soc Sci. 2011;23(3):329-44.
Gholamali, Adil H. Law of the Fourth Plan of Economic, Social and Cultural Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran. http://www.parliran.ir/index.aspx?siteid=1&pageid=2941.1394 [cited 2018 26.04].
Mahmoudifar Y, Tabibi SJ, Nasiripour AA, Riahi L. Factors Affecting Development of Medical Tourism Industry in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. International Journal of Health Studies. 2017;2(4).
Delushaei, Bahram, Jabbari, Alireza, Farzin, Mohammad Reza. Current status of medical tourism: a case study of Iran. Monitoring 2012; 11 (2): 171-9.
Ardebil Health Tourism http://www.arums.ac.ir/healthtourism/fa1396 [cited 2018 04.26].
world bank data: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/PA.NUS.PPPC.RF?end=2016&locations=AZIR&start=1990&view=chart [cited 2018]
- Abstract Viewed: 260 times
- PDF Downloaded: 90 times