Analyzing circular economy enablers in the Iranian hospital sector: a hybrid group decision-making approach

Introduction The ongoing growth of the global population substantially increases the demand for healthcare services and hospital resources. This trend leads to greater healthcare waste generation, heightened environmental pressures, and an increased need for medical equipment and infrastructure. Transitioning from linear to circular production and consumption can mitigate many of these damages.Objective To implement the circular economy (CE), it is necessary to identify the enablers. Therefore, the present study aims to analyze the enablers of the circular economy in the Iranian hospital sector.Methodology To achieve this, the initial list of enablers was extracted from the literature, yielding 11 enablers. Then, using the Fuzzy Delphi method, the enablers were tailored to the research case, and 9 enablers were finalized. The Bayesian Best-Worst Method (BBWM) was then used to evaluate the importance of each finalized enabler.Results The findings indicate that culture, employee participation, and process are the most important enablers, while the use of digital technology is less important. Finally, practical and managerial suggestions have been presented. Based on insights from hospital practitioners in Iran, it offers evidence to support context-specific policies and implementation strategies.