The performance of rural family physicians in Fars province, Iran

BACKGROUND: Family physician (FP) program is a complete health-care system whose most important results are elimination of individuals’ confusion when going to the doctor and increase in their satisfaction with health services. This study aimed to evaluate the performance, strengths, and weaknesses of FP program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 52 FPs in Fars province were selected via stratified sampling and their performance was investigated. The data were collected using FPs performance questionnaire that included five domains, namely, management, performance, contract guidelines, community involvement, and outcomes. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software, version 19, and were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Among the 52 FPs under study, 56.9% were male and 43.1% were female. The lowest and highest scores were related to community involvement (3.93 ± 0.81) and outcomes (23.52 ± 3.04), respectively. The results showed significant relationships between most domains (P < 0.05). However, no significant correlation was found between gender and different domains (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Considering diverse activities done by FPs, the wide area of our country, and issues related to increasing satisfaction among physicians and individuals covered by the program, further researches are required in this area.