3.1.1. Definition of stakeholder groups

The study involved interviews with four groups: health system researchers, administrators, healthcare providers, and patients. Health system researchers were experts in health management, policy, and economics. Administrators had experience in insurance, finance, and health center complaint evaluations. Healthcare providers, mainly from the private sector, were the study's focus. Patients, a vital stakeholder group affected by the lack of pricing transparency, were also included. To meet inclusion criteria, patients had to be at least 18 years old and have received a minimum of two private-sector health treatments in the previous year. The selection of stakeholders, with the exception of patients, was undertaken through a non-random and purposive sampling approach at the national level. The patients included in this study had recently undergone healthcare services from both private and public sectors within the urban center of Urmia.