Five years after implementation of urban family physician program in fars province of Iran: Are people's knowledge and practice satisfactory?

Abstract

Introduction:Urban family physician program (UFPP) was launched in Fars province of Iran in 2012. We aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of people toward this 5-year-old program.Methods:In this population-based study, through a multistage random sampling from 6 cities of Fars province, 1350 people older than 18 years were interviewed. For data collection, a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic characteristics and items about knowledge and practice toward UFPP was used.Results:The mean age of the interviewees was 42.4 ± 14.2 years; male (674; 49.9%)-to-female (651; 48.2%) ratio was 1.03. Mean score of knowledge was 4.2 ± 1.7 (out of 14), while 961 (71.1%) had < 50% of the desirable knowledge. Mean score of practice was 4.4 ± 1.3 (out of 9), while only 443 (32.8%) had a good performance toward this program. Knowledge and practice did not show a significant correlation (r = 0.06, P = 0.05). Among cities, the highest and the lowest mean of knowledge belonged to Pasargad (5.6 ± 2.1) and Lar (3.0 ± 1.0) (P < 0.001), respectively. Pasargad (4.8 ± 1.4) had also the highest level of practice compared to Farashband (3.8 ± 1.4) which had the lowest score (P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis showed that supplemental insurance coverage (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5, %95 confidence interval [CI]: 1.6–3.9), female gender (OR = 1.9, %95 CI: 1.2–2.9) and higher level of education (OR = 1.7, %95 CI: 1.1–2.5) were the significant determinants of knowledge, while practice in those who were not covered by supplemental insurance was better (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.5).Conclusions:After 5 years of implementation of UFPP, knowledge and practice of people toward UFPP are not satisfactory. This finding calls for a serious revision in some aspects of UFFP.

Developing Urban Family Physician Program in Shiraz, Fars Province, the Doctors’ Experiences: A Qualitative Research

“…Before the implementation of the program, both the community of patients and the medical community did not have the necessary cultural training, neither they were provided with the required training for how the program is properly implemented for service providers nor recipients. Honarvar et al (11) in 2018, recommended that attention to the knowledge of people toward this program should be highly considered.…”

A population-based study on patients complaining regarding community pharmacies services

“…[ 1 2 ] For centuries, patients have easily entrusted their body and soul to their physicians because they believed that physicians could relieve their pains and keep their secrets. [ 3 ] Physicians have long played the role of partner in patient's pain and sorrow as well as keeping their secrets, which resulted in enjoying special social respect. [ 4 5 ] Therefore, anything that would disrupt this bilateral relationship and reduce its strength will be reprehensible.…”