Behvarzes Viewpoints on their Abilities in Delivering Health Services

Behvarzes are at the first contact level of delivering health services in rural areas of Iran. The objective of this study was to investigate viewpoints of Behvarzes on their ability in delivering health services. In t his cross-sectional survey، 2500 male and female Behvarzes were selected through multi-stage random sampling. Data were gathered through a valid and reliable questionnaire (α= 0. 97). The questionnaire included 104 variables categorized into two areas including demographic، local service delivery unit variables and topics of training materials. Data were analyzed using the t-student and Chi-squared test in the SPSS. Mean age was 35 ± 6. 7 in the female Behvarzes and 39. 1± 7. 4 in the male behvarzes. More than half (62%) of the participants were living in the rural areas; and 68% had a high school diploma degree (12 years of education). The ability of working with computer and software was weak in 95% of the Behvarzes. The skills in the 34% of the areas were reported as excellent and in 65% of the areas were reported as mid-level by the Behvarzes. The viewpoints of the Behvarzes on their ability to deliver health services could help to provide new approaches in Behvarzes trainings. Improving quality of the training workshops via changes in the content of the curriculum will positively affect more than 32000 Behvarzes working in halth system in Iran. Conducting regional and local needs assessments is suggested to improve plans of action.