title: Iran's Experience of Health Cooperatives as a Public-Private Partnership Model in Primary Health Care: A Comparative Study in East Azerbaijan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Iran started a new public-private partnership model in form of health coopera¬tives which is somehow different from other types of health cooperatives throughout the world. In this study we compared the performance and quality of health services in public health cen¬ters (PHCs) and cooperative health centers (CHCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  In this comparative study performance quality of two cohorts of public and coopera¬tive health centers were compared in several health service delivery programs over the time pe¬riod of 2001- 2002.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Screening program: the rate of visited population during screening program was higher in CHCs. Maternal health care program: In some of studied programs CHCs had better results. Child health care: Most indicators were better or similar in CHCs. School health program and Health education: All indices were better or similar in CHCs. Environmental health: population based positive function was not significantly different for the population covered by CHCs compared to population covered by PHCs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Client and staff satisfaction as well as participation and attitudes of personnel towards management was better in CHCs. Mean annual cost per capita of the covered population by PHCs was higher.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CHCs as a public private partnership model in Iran may deliver preventive health care services as effective as PHCs in many fields and even better in some areas.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychiatry Research center, Razi Hospital, Tabriz University of medical sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farahbakhsh
authors.affiliation: Traffic Injury Prevention Research Center, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Homayoun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadeghi-Bazargani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nikniaz
authors.affiliation: Tabriz Health Services Management Research Center, Faculty of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Jafar Sadegh
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Tabrizi
authors.affiliation: Provincial Health Department, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Akram
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zakeri
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Saber
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azami
keywords: Health; Iran; Model; Public