Survey of Satisfaction of People in Urban and Rural Areas with the Family Physician Plan

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of urban and rural populations of Larestan with the family physician plan.

The present study was conducted with a quantitative approach. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of all households covered by the plan in Larestan city. A sample of 383 people was selected using the Cochran formula. Data were analyzed by SPSS21 software using Pearson analysis, regression analysis, and T-test. The face validity and Cronbach’s alpha were used to assess the validity and reliability of the research instrument, respectively.

The overall satisfaction with the family physician plan was moderate to high (62.7%). There was no relationship between gender (P=0.074), occupation (P=0.424), and residential homeownership (P=0.338), and satisfaction with the plan. There were significant direct relationships between residence place, marital status, age, education, insurance coverage, income, level of service coverage, medical costs, physician’s clinical expertise, and access to physician, and satisfaction with the plan. The results of multivariate regression analysis showed that service coverage (r=0.925), treatment costs (r=0.928), age (r=0.930), and clinical expertise (P=0.931) explained a total of 86% of changes in the satisfaction with the family physician plan (P<0.001).

The quality of services and satisfaction with the plan can be increased by allocating resources, implementing educational programs for increasing physician skills, holding training courses for villagers to get them acquainted with the goals of the plan, and careful monitoring and surveillance of the program.