Determining and Explaining the Factors Affecting the Policy-Making of Health-Centered Sports of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to discover and explain factors affecting the health-oriented sport of the Iranian Armed Forces. Sports policy-making will not be possible without a comprehensive investigation of all the effective factors and their importance. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 elites of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including 12 managers, commanders, and eight academic elites. Data were analyzed through a three-step coding based on grounded theory. Researchers sought to identify the factors influencing the sports policies of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran by coding in three steps (open codes, themes, and categories). Results: After data analysis, 1316 open codes were categorized into five primary interventions, including legal interventions (767 codes, 58.3%), social environment interventions (269 codes, 20.4%), sports interventions (162 codes, 12.3%), physical environment interventions (110 codes, 8.4%) and technological interventions (8 codes, 0.6%). Conclusion: Analysis revealed that sports intervention was considered one of the independent interventions in sports policy emphasizing health because the armed forces are not a specific organization with a sports mission. Also, technological interventions were not considered one of the primary interventions in physical activity and sports-based health. It indicated that technology-based alterations are still not considered an effective intervention in Iran's armed forces culture. Generally, the factors influencing the sports policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran included legal intervention, social environment, physical and sports environment, and legal intervention affected the highest impact in comparison with other interventions.