Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Physicians Working in Governmental Institutions

Physicians working in governmental institutions play an important role in providing affordable and efficient healthcare in the health system of Iran. In this study, knowledge, attitude and practice of government-related physician toward their respective organizations is evaluated. In this cross - sectional study in 2014, a categorized questionnaire containing questions in three areas of (1) "knowledge" about the rules and regulations of the organization, (2) "attitude" toward the working atmosphere of the organization, colleagues and higher rate managers and (3) level of "practice" in defined duties was given to physicians working in organizations and government related hospitals in the city of Mashhad. In this study that was performed on 120 physicians working in subsets of 3 government organizations, 74 subjects responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 61.6%) which 45 of them were men (60.8%). The mean age of respondents was 45.4 ± 6.1 years and their mean working history was 15.9 ± 5.7 years. The highest level of knowledge was found in the "five main objectives of the organization" (54.2%). The highest positive attitude of respondents was to a question about "being effective in their respective institution" (75.6%). The respondents mentioned their best practice in dealing with superiors, colleagues and clients (94.6%). Comparing the responses of men and women, more men than women were informed about the rules of promotion in the organization (P = 0.04). On the other hand, more women than men believed that the organization has responded positively to their efforts and creativity (P = 0.001). Physicians who had administrative history were significantly more aware of the details of promotion rules in their organization (P = 0.026) and know the 5 main objectives of the organization (P = 0.019) compared to those who did not have such history. It seems necessary that at the beginning of the employment of physicians in the government related organizations, their positive attitude toward the organization should also be considered and their knowledge about their duties and objectives of the organization should be increased by group brainstorming sessions and training classes.