The study of health, cultural and social conditions of the Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary province's rural population in 2007

Identifying the problems and difficulties related to rural areas can be useful and effective in future planning. Since looking into the current situation is the first step in planning economical, social and cultural development, this study was carried out with the aim of investigating aspects of health, cultural and social conditions of the rural population of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiary province.

In this descriptive-cross sectional study 1638 family guardians were chosen through simple sampling. Around 90 villages were chosen for this research (the same area in which the Tarhe Hejrat was carried out in the year 2008). The data was gathered using multi-sectional questionnaires (Cronbach’s Alpha 89%) with 47 questions including demographic information, state of education, employment, financial state, family planning, diet, hypertension, smoking and personal hygiene and was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Unemployment in the rural areas was 31.6%. 86% had their own homes, 30% had a personal car and 87% had bathrooms in their homes. 43.22% wished to emigrate. The awareness of problems arising from not paying attention to family planning was 75.74% and the most practiced method was using oral contraceptive pills (45.1%). The biggest amount of red meat (46.09%), chicken (36.23%) and fish (62.56%) intake was 1 to 5 times a month. The amount of people suffering from hypertension was 26.25%. Knowledge of the side effects of smoking was 91.81% and the average age of smokers was 57.81±14.51. Families with a child aged fewer than 10 who had been in an accident were 16.65% and males had the most accidents (70%).

The social, cultural and health status of the people living in the country-side in the province is not at its optimal level in certain aspects. Finding the causes however, requires more research.