Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic Of Iran

en Comparing Medical Training Costs Internationally: A Systematic Review Medical Education Medical Education Systematic Review Background: Acquiring a thorough understanding of the expenses linked to the education of health sciences students is crucial for effective university planning, budgeting, and overall preparedness. This systematic review aimed to identify and compare the per capita costs associated with educating medical and other health science students internationally—particularly emphasizing the context of Iran.    Methods: A systematic review was conducted in 2023 according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The search covered the period from January 1, 2000, to  November 11, 2022, using MeSH and EMTREE terms. Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Iranian databases were searched. Manual searches were performed using Google and Google Scholar.    Results: The study retrieved 1336 publications from bibliometric databases and, following thorough screening, included 8 relevant articles from 5 countries (Australia, Iran, United States, Thailand, and Vietnam). An additional 17 relevant articles from Iranian databases were also included. Based on USD purchasing power parity (PPP) 2019, the results show that the mean per capita cost of training a medical student for 1 academic year in Iran is $61,493.86 (range, $28,102-$133,603; standard deviation, $35,476.03). In comparison, the cost of training a medical student for 1 year is $263,305 in the United States and $44,674 in Australia. In Thailand and Vietnam, a 6-year medical program costs is $284,058 and $69,323, respectively. Moreover, according to most studies, training students in other health sciences in Iran for 1 academic year generally costs ˂$20,000 (PPP 2019).    Conclusion: The study reveals that the costs associated with medical student education in Iran exceed that of most countries, second only to the United States. These findings highlight the importance of such data in improving the efficiency, sustainability, and informed resource allocation of global medical education programs for future planning and budgeting.    Cost, Education, Medical Student, Training 281 292 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-8540-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Asgar Aghaei Hashjin aghaei.a@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460088970 200319475328460088970 No Department of Health Service Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Kamran Irandoust irandoust.k@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460088971 200319475328460088971 Yes Department of Health Economics, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hanie Gholampoor h.gholampoor800@yahoo.com 200319475328460088972 200319475328460088972 No Department of Health Economics, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Claudia Fischer claudia.fischer@meduniwien.ac.at 200319475328460088973 200319475328460088973 No Department of Health Economics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria Masoud Maleki Birjandi maleki.mas@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460088974 200319475328460088974 No Financial Department, Vice-Chancellor Office for International Affairs, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Aireza Mazdaki mazdakii@yahoo.com 200319475328460088975 200319475328460088975 No Finacial Department, Vice-Chancellor for Resources Management and Development, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hossein Abdolali abdolali.h@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460088976 0009-0005-6685-7140 No Finacial Department, Vice-Chancellor for Resources Management and Development, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hediye Seval Akgun sevala@baskent-ank.edu.tr 200319475328460088977 200319475328460088977 No Baskent University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey