Abstract

Public health is an aspect of the health overall concept and is one of the most important factors in human evolution and improvement which relies on methods and strategies to prevent the development of mental illness and treatment and rehabilitation for them. This study was aimed at estimating the status of public health in Iran using the metaanalysis method. The search was conducted using keywords of health, mental health, general health, GHQ-28 and Iran in international databases including Pubmed, Scopus, ISI, Google Scholar, and national databases of Sid, Med lib, Iranmedex, Magiran. Data were analyzed using meta-analysis (random effects model) by STATA Ver.11 software. Heterogeneity of studies was assessed using I2 index. The GHQ-28 questionnaire was used in all studies. In 79 reviewed studies with a sample of 31765 people during the years 1999 to 2015, good general health in Iran was 50 (95 CI, 42-58), 40 of individuals had poor general health and 30 of individuals had fairly acceptable public health. Also, poor general health was 47 among women and 36 among men. A significant percentage of Iranians suffer from poor general health. Hence, noticing the state of public health and providing the basis for the realization of a dynamic and healthy life for community members seems essential.