Journal of School of Public Health and

Background and Aim: Experience at the national and international levels shows that internal evaluation, especially at the level of academic departments, can play a critical role in warranting having a university with high standards. The objectives of the present research project were to determine (a). the quality of the structural elements of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department (EBD) School of Public Health,  Tehran University of Medical Sciences,  and (b). The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, on the basis of which action could be taken to improve the quality of activities in the Department.

Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with the collaboration of the head and faculty members, all of the students (residents, Ph.D. and M.S. students), and the graduates, of the EBD. Nine variables were studied, namely, 1). Aims and objectives 2). Organizational and management structure 3). Faculty members 4). Students 5). Teaching and learning process 6). Courses and curricula 7). Graduates 8). Research and educational facilities and equipment and 9). Research activities of the faculty members. First the initial weight of the 9 variables were  determined by opinion poll carried out among all the faculty members of EBD. Then unrelated data were identified through proper tests and omitted and the final weights extracted. The tools used to collect the data included interview, observation, and 7 self-prepared questionnaires and 2 check lists.

Results: The mean score for the 9 factors studied was 59.8%, the range being between 37.0% (for objectives and mission) and 72.0% (for graduates).

Conclusion: The graduate domain is one of the key areas in internal evaluation of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. On the other hand, the lower score for objective and aims domain implicates the need for future intervention in this domain.

Background and Aim: Human resources in any organization are its main capital. They are the only unique asset that are not liable to depreciation over time, but they even create more added value. The Social Security Organization (SCO) as a social insurer organization needs urgent assessment of its human resource management. In this regard, it appears that such an essential assessment can be done using the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model.

Materials and Methods: This project was an applied descriptive study conducted at the Social Security General Department in Tehran, Iran. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire for performance assessment based on the EFQM model, the reliability of which (0.989) was determined by using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. A total of 388 questionnaires were distributed, of which 311 were completed and returned to the researcher; the response rate was 81%. Analysis of the data was done using the SPSS-16 software.

Results: The human resource managers in the SCO achieved a score of 495.72. The empowerment and results dimensions rated 261.34 and 198.38, respectively. In the empowerment dimension, policy and strategy criteria had the highest score (56.12) and process the lowest (51.28), while in the results dimension, community criteria had the highest (50.27) and the customers criteria the lowest (51.18) score.

Conclusion: Based on the findings it can be concluded that the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model is suitable for assessing both the performance, strengths and weaknesses of the Tehran Security General Department human resources and improving its performance. Certainly better implementation of programs and achieving excellence will be possible through sustainable collaboration.