Community perspective on family medicine and family physician in Saudi Arabia 2020

BACKGROUND: Despite the importance and advantages of family medicine, it has poorly developed in Arab communities when compared to other medical specialties. Therefore, in this study, we aim to investigate the perception of the Saudi population about family medicine and physicians. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out using a self-administered structured online survey tool through the Google Forms platform. The online questionnaire was distributed to all Saudi Arabia’s residents aged more than 15 years. A predesigned questionnaire was used and included items collecting data about participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, awareness/knowledge, and experience/attitudes. RESULTS: A total of 6974 valid participants were included in the current study, where the age group 25–35 years (37.1%) and 51.7% of them were females. Out of the included participants, 81.3% (n = 5671) did not report any chronic illnesses, while the other 18.7% (n = 1303) did. The mean awareness and knowledge score for all participants was 9.57 ± 3.39 (out of 20 possible points), while the mean experience and attitude score for all participants was 10.15 ± 2.58 (out of 16 possible points). Patients’ perceptions, whether awareness and knowledge or experience and attitude scores, were significantly correlated (P-value < 0.001) to chronic illness status, being a healthcare worker, job, marital status, and gender factors. Moreover, experience and attitude score was additionally correlated to residence region (P-value = 0.034) and participants’ nationality (P-value< 0.001). CONCLUSION: General population in Saudi Arabia were aware about the importance of family physicians and they trust them. The identified predictors should be considered when trying to increase public awareness and enhance the experience with family physicians.