Impact of Social and Cultural Factors on Incidence, Transmission and Control of Coronavirus Disease in Iran: A Qualitative Study 

Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has had mixed reactions from nations, people and governments about ways to cope with, prevent and control the disease. The current study identifies social, cultural and policy factors affecting the incidence and control of Coronavirus disease in Iran. Methods: A qualitative study consists of content analysis and views of experienced and knowledgeable subjects specialized in social and cultural health management. Data collection has been implemented through appropriate content specific search as well as semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was complemented by inductive content analysis. Results: There are distinct social and cultural factors in coping with Coronavirus disease. These consisted of three categories of governance, individual and community related factors. A total of 21 subcategories and 215 primary codes that were extracted from the text of interviews as variables of the study and in relation to the research question. Twelve subdomains of governance including vaccination, political factors, restrictions, education, support services, administrative services, transportation, health and treatment, culturalization, legislation, management and finance impacted the spread and mitigation of the pandemic at various levels. Conclusion: The management of pandemics requires a comprehensive capacity for identifying and determining social and cultural criteria. A healthy partnership between governments and the community may be required to remove unnecessary obstacles that hinder public health attempt to alleviate the risk. The obtained criteria and indicators from this study may be utilized by policy makers in an attempt to strengthen protocols for mitigating pandemics. Further studies may be warranted to confirm these findings