Internal environment assessment of hospitals in Gorgan and Gonbad-e Qabus cities, Iran, according to Weisbord’s six-dimension model

Background and purpose: Internal assessment is an introduction for improving the quality and the first step of accreditation. Identifying the competencies and the weaknesses enables the organizations to choose the strategies to face environmental forces. This study aimed to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of hospitals in Gorgan and the Gonbad-e Qabus cities, Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Azar the 5, Deziani, and Taleghani hospitals in the city of Gorgan and Shahid Motahari and Shohola hospitals in the city of Gonbad-e Qabus. Statistical Society was included 322 clinical and non-clinical staff of the hospitals. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using ANOVA, t, and Pearson correlation tests. Results: 83.5% of respondents considered desirable internal hospital environment and 16.5% of them considered undesirable. The weakest area was rewards and the strongest area was target. There were significant relationships between internal environment of hospitals and years of services (P = 0.030), ward (P = 0.008), and hospital (P = 0.021) but there were not significant relationships between internal environment of hospitals and age (P = 0.371), sex (P = 0.559), employment status (P = 0.527), and level of education (P = 0.110). Conclusion: Internal environment status was good from employee's viewpoint but rewards need to improve. It is necessary for managers to give rewards to personnel practice-basely and individually.