Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 43 2 2014 02 15 202 9 Mehdi Yousefi 1. Dept. of Health Economics and Management Sciences, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad, Iran. Abbas Assari Arani 2. Dept. of Development and Economic Planning, School of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran, Iran. Bahram Sahabi 3. Dept. of Economics, School of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran, Iran. Anoshirvan Kazemnejad 4. Dept. of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran, Iran. Somayeh Fazaeli 5. Dept. of Medical Records, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences , Mashhad, Iran. 2015 10 15 This study aimed at identifying components of the household health costs.This study was a qualitative research conducted in two main phases. The first phase consisted of interviews with sample households selected in eight provinces of Iran. They were to identify components of the household health costs. In the second phase, components were determined as direct, indirect and intangible based on a content analysis.In the first phase of the study, 93 components of households' health costs were identified. According to the content analysis, 44 components were categorized as direct costs, 10 components were indirect and 39 components were categorized as intangible.All components of households' health costs including: direct, indirect and intangible costs, should be considered in the planning and policy-making in the health system. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/4227 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/4227/3882