Abstract

Background and aims: One of the factors affecting the health of people in the community is the health status of food procurement distribution and supply. Overlooking and controlling of these centers is the responsibility of environmental health inspectors. Considering the importance of interaction between environmental health inspectors and providers of food supply, distribution and supply centers, and its impact on the implementation of he ealth rules and regulations by the principal, the main objective of this study was to identify the factors affecting the interaction between environmental health inspectors and providers of procurement centers, Distributing and supplying food, as well as identifying the weaknesses and strengths of the system and the environmental health inspection method from the perspective of inspectors and operators Methods: This study is an applied study using quality content analysis. Participants included eight environmental health experts and six providers of food procurement, distribution and supply centers, Sample selection criteria were sample-based samples selected based on objective sampling. The criterion for the determination of the number of samples in this research was theoretical saturation of the researcher. Data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews. Interviews were rec orded and then rewritten and analyzed using Maxqda 10 software and codes, subclasses and classes were identified and then for each of the 24 subclasses, a separate interpretation was written. Initially, the classes were named, but it did not have the name of abstraction. Credibility, transferability, trust, and verifiability were used to determine the validity and validity of the data. To provide data confidence, after analyzing the text of interviews by the researcher, some of the transcribed interviews were handed to some expert colleagues in order to compare them with the the researcher’s coding. 85 of the codes written by the researcher and the experts were similar. The review method was used to obtain consensus agreements on data transmission capability. In order r to verify the data and determine the authenticity of the codes approval of the participants were obtained. Results: The first group of participants in this research in, i.e. experts and environmental health inspectors, had an average age of 41.2 (34-65) years from both sexes (seven males and one female), with bachelor (6) and master (2) degrees, and an average work experience of 17.75 (8-43) years. The second group, i.e. operators and managers of the preparation, distribution, and supply of food, had an average age of 45 (34-65) years, and all were males with secondary school (1), diploma (4), and bachelor (1) degrees, and an average work experience of 25 (12-43) years. After analysis of data, a total of 338 primary codes was extracted in this study, which were analyzed, extracted, and categorized in six main classes and 24 sub-classes. The main classes were factors related to education, concentration monitoring system, legal measures, inspection method, acceptance of the rules by the curator, and attention of inspectors to the managerial and geographical conditions. Conclusion: The opinions expressed in the interviews by the two groups of inspectors and attendants have many points of contact. This sharing of views between inspectors and attendants can provide the interaction fields between them as well. According to the expressed opinions, it is necessary to modify some methods and approaches in the health inspection of the food procurement, distribution, and supply centers, as well as complete lack of focus on legal tools to change the behaviors of operators, and to pay attention to the implementation of participatory training methods that have been less considered to date to increase the cooperation of service providers agreed upon by both group of interviewees. Also, the entry of self-reported health companies to the field of environmental health inspection and its consequences were the important issues that the inspe tors and the operators looked at with suspicion in this study; therefore, more attention should be paid to its implementation. The opinions of the interviewees (two groups of inspectors and operators) have a lot of sharing points about various issues in health inspections. It is, therefore, suggested to investigate the opinions of operators as one of the stakeholders in decisions made on the environment. The sharing of opinion between inspectors and operators can provide the fields of interaction between inspectors and operators. According to most participants, the necessity of reforming some methods and approaches is important in the health inspection of supply centers, distribution, and supply of food. To enhance the cooperation of operators, it is also necessary to focus on the training and empowerment of investigators, training of operators by modern ways, the lack of complete focus on legal instruments for the change of operators' behaviors, and the implementation of corporate educational practices that have been less noticed today . It is also possible to consider some of the inspections as an advisory and training inspection at the curator’s workplace. According to the inspectors, under article 13 of the executive code of the provision of edible, drinking, cosmetic, and sanitary procedures, and changing the procedures of legal action in the comprehensive audit system, the auditors are not yet familiar with the law; hence the executive procedure of recording checks and carrying out legal action has encountered some problems. On the other hand, the introduction of self-declaration to the area of health inspection and its outcomes were an important issue, which was regarded to be doubtful by investigators and officials in this study, necessitating further considerations about its implementation. Finally, the health inspectors were scientifically analyzed with regard to the extent of their activities in medical sciences at medical sciences universities throughout the country. Further analyses were made on a small number of studies related to various fields of auditors, and the effectiveness of activities such as inspection and sampling of food, as well as the effect of inspection from operators' points of view. A strength point of this study is that the defects, challenges, and views of both environmental health inspectors and operators of supply centers, distribution, and supply of food were examined for the first time with a qualitative approach. © 2019 Iran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.