Designing Headquarters General Competency Model for The Health Sector

Abstract Background An effective health headquarters has behaviors, knowledge, skills, and motivations that are behavioral, technical, and motivational prerequisites for successful performance in a job. This study aims to identify the general competencies of health headquarters to meet the needs of the health system.Methods To facilitate a consensus-building process on the development of public competencies, a multi-step approach was used. First, to identify the dimensions and components of general competencies in attracting health headquarters, the systematic review and meta-synthesis were used. Then, using a purposive critical case sampling, twenty-six participants were interviewed and the information was analyzed. In the third stage, the health headquarters were classified into three levels. To present the initial model of competencies, the Mini Delphi method was used. Finally, in the fourth step, to validate and finalize the pattern, the three-step Delphi method was used.Results The six dimensions of competency have been developed, which are (1) leadership and management (12 components), (2) analysis, interpretation, and reporting (6 components), (3) interpersonal relationships (4 components), (4) individual competencies (7 components), (5) cultural and community competencies (5 components), (6), and Administrative competencies (4 components). The leadership and management dimension, in both the first and second stages of this research, had the highest number of codes (42 and 25% of the total codes). Conclusion Since health headquarters play a major role in supervising and directing human resources and promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities of health-related organizations, they should have a high level of management and leadership skills. It is important to pay attention to the competency level of the health headquarters, their classification, and the use of different competencies to attract each group of these headquarters. Also, due to the effective nature of the duties of third-level headquarters who are recruited to work at the highest headquarter level, these headquarters must have a high level of all competencies. Finally, using the competency model of health headquarters can help health organizations in achieving high visions, goals, and self-help strategies.