en Health Health Original Research Original Research <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;</b><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp; Background: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">Community participation has been accepted as a promising approach to promoting health and health equality. Based on Iran&#39;s constitution and the general health policies, community participation in health is addressed as a right, and during recent decades, some measures have been put in place. However, it is critical to improve public participation in Iran&#39;s health system and institutionalize community participation in health policymaking. This study aimed to identify barriers and facilities affecting public participation in Iran&#39;s health policymaking. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Methods: </b>Semi-structured qualitative interviews with health policymakers, health managers and planners, and other stakeholders were conducted to collect data. The conventional content analysis approach was used to analyze the data.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Results:</b> Two themes&mdash;including community level and government level&mdash;and 10 categories were identified through the qualitative analysis.&nbsp; Cultural and motivational factors, lack of awareness of the right to participate, and lack of sufficient knowledge and skills are among the identified barriers in the process of establishing effective interaction. From the health governance perspective, a lack of political will is identified as one of the obstacles.&nbsp; </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; <b>Conclusion:</b> A culture of community involvement and political will are pivotal in the sustainability of community participation in health policymaking. The provision of a suitable context for participatory processes and capacity building on the community and government levels can be useful in institutionalizing community participation in the health system.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; Community Participation, Health Policymaking, Political Will, Iran 446 454 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-7919-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Maryam Rahbari Bonab m.rahbari2003@yahoo.com 200319475328460077549 200319475328460077549 No Community-based Participatory Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Fatemeh Rajabi frajabi@tums.ac.ir 200319475328460077550 200319475328460077550 Yes Community-based Participatory Research Center, & University Research and Development Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Reza Majdzadeh reza.majdzadeh@gmail.com 200319475328460077551 200319475328460077551 No Community-based Participatory Research Center, & Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran