MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF FAMILY MEDICINE • VOLUME 7, ISSUE 10 63 POPULATION AND COMMUNITY STUDIES WORLD FAMILY MEDICINE/MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF FAMILY MEDICINE VOLUME 15 ISSUE 10, DECEMBER 2017 WORLD FAMILY MEDICINE/MIDDLE EAST JOURNAL OF FAMILY MEDICINE VOLUME 16 ISSUE 3, MARCH 2018 How do Iranian Elderly People Conceptualize Social Welfare? A Content Analysis Study Mirtaher Mousavi (1) Hassan Rafey (2) Robab Sahaf (3) Mohammad Ali Mohammadi (4) Meroe Vameghi (5) Seyed Hossein Mohaqeqi Kamal (6) Faeze Joghataei (7) Arya Hamedanchi (8) (1) Assistant professor, Ph.D in Sociology, Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (2) MD, Psychiatrist, Associate professor, Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran, Iran. (3) MD, PhD in Gerontology, Associate professor, Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (4) Ph.D in Sociology, Associate professor, Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (5) MD, Psychiatrist, Associate Professor, Social welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (6) Ph.D in Social Welfare and Social Health, Department of Social Welfare, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (7) M.A in Sociology, Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. (8) MD,MPH,Ph.D Candidate, Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Kodakyar st., Daneshjoo Blv, Tehran, Iran. Corresponding author: Arya Hamedanchi Iranian Research Center on Aging, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Kodakyar st., Daneshjoo Blv , Tehran, Iran. Postal code: 1987513834 Email: dr.hamedanchi@gmail.com Received: December 25, 2017; Accepted: December 30, 2017; Published: March 1, 2018. Citation: Mirtaher Mousavi. et al. How do Iranian Elderly People Conceptualize Social Welfare? A Content Analysis Study. World Family Medicine. 2018; 16(3):63-68. DOI: 10.5742/MEWFM.2018.93312 Abstract The sharp increase in life expectancy and the growing number of elderly people mean that more attention needs to be paid to their welfare. Howev- er, only a few studies have been done on the wel- fare of elderly people in Iran. This study examines the concept of social welfare from their perspec- tive. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 elderly people and the results were analysed through content analysis. Two cat- egories of concepts -material and non-material, were extracted. Material concepts include the sub- categories ‘economic situation, housing, physical access to outdoor space, health, leisure facilities, and social support’ while non-material concepts include the subcategories of “emotions” and “relationships”. The results of this study reveal mul- ti-dimensional concepts which can also be used to develop welfare indicators for the Iranian elderly. Key words: Elderly, Social welfare, Qualitative research, Iran