Development Strategies in Medical Education

Introduction
Measuring the quality of an educational center is a difficult task, both in terms of the volume of services and the evaluation method [1]. One of the most influential factors in creating a quality teaching hospital is the emphasis on the implementation of accreditation standards [4]. By using hospital accreditation standards, the accreditation assessors obtain and record the required data and information from managers, employees, patients and their companions through observation, interview and document review. As a result, by examining the hospital services’ compliance with the determined standards, it is decided whether or not to grant an accreditation certificate to the hospital [6]. In Iran, in the past years, the issue of accreditation was unfortunately neglected despite its importance, efficiency and essential role in improving the quality of health services. However, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education prepared the ground for the implementation of hospital accreditation in 2013 [12]. The present study aims to investigate the knowledge and attitude of the executive management team of teaching hospitals affiliated to Jahrom University of Medical Sciences regarding accreditation.

Methods
This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 2023 on 61 members of the executive management team involved in the implementation of accreditation in teaching hospitals of Jahrom city. The data collection tools included a demographic form and the knowledge and attitude scale towards hospital accreditation. Data analysis was done in SPSS software, version 21 using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Shapiro-Wilk test, independent t-test, ANOVA). The significance level was set at 0.05.

Results
The mean scores of knowledge and attitude regarding hospital accreditation were 13.16±4.62 and 16.92±5.81, respectively. After standardization, They increased to 49.57±16.02 and 62.66±21.53, respectively. According to the executive management team, “Knowledge and awareness about the requirements (infrastructure and necessary conditions)”,”Knowledge and awareness about accreditation standards”, and “Knowledge and awareness about the general principles and concepts of accreditation” had the highest score. The awareness and attitude scores had no significant relationship with demographic variables (P>0.05).

Conclusion
Based on the results of the present study, executive managers’ awareness and attitudes towards accreditation improved after the implementation of accreditation process. According to the executive management team, “Knowledge and awareness about the requirements (infrastructure and necessary conditions)”,”Knowledge and awareness about accreditation standards”, and “Knowledge and awareness about the general principles and concepts of accreditation” had the highest importance. 

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by the ethics committee of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.JUMS.REC.1402.073).

Funding
This study was funded by Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. 

Authors' contributions
The authors contributed equally to preparing this article.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Clinical Research Development Unit of Peymaniyeh Hospital in Jahrom and all participants for their cooperation in this study.


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