Opinions of Primary Care Health Workers on Family Medicine Legislation

Purpose: The aim was to get some adopt on Family Medicine Legislation of primary care health workers working in a district where this legislation has not been yet started. Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in 2006, in all of the primary care centers in one district of a city. The propositions on three basic areas, which are planning, organization and financing of health services considering the Family Medicine Legislation were evaluated. The answers to the propositions were scored, and the highest scores indicate that the Family Medicine Legislation is supported by the primary health care workers. Results: The mean scores of the doctors on organization, financing and utilization of health services were 44.9 +/- 16.1, 34.1 +/- 17.5 and 57.0 +/- 20.1, respectively. The mean scores of nurses/midwives on the same areas were 41.8 +/- 12.9, 26.5 +/- 16.3 and 54.1 +/- 15.9, respectively. Health services financing area scores of the doctors were significantly higher than the other health workers (p<0,001). The mean scores of the doctors and the nurses on propositions apparently different and similar in two legislations were significantly different for doctors and nurses (p<0,001). Conclusion: The mean scores on propositions which agreed on the Family Medicine Legislation practice were low. This result may show that the health workers have not adopted the principles of this legislation yet.