The Role of Family Physician in Health Literacy of Rural Population in Farsan District

Background: Health literacy is a stronger predictor of health as compared to variables such as age, income, employment status, education level and race. In this regard, the World Health Organization has reported health literacy as one of the greatest determinants of health. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the role of family physician in the health literacy of rural population in Farsan district. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic study conducted in 2017 in Farsan. The sample size was equal to 450. 205 males and 245 females were selected as the sample, using stratified random sampling. A questionnaire was used to conduct the study (response rate 85.3). The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. Data were analyzed using descriptive indexes such as percentage, mean and standard deviation, along with Spearman correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Results: The results of the study showed that 62.2% were female and 37.8% were male. 41.5% were in the age group of 20-29 years old and 7.3% were above 50 years old. Most participants in the study had a bachelor’s degree (26.8%) with no history of disease (87.8%). There was a direct and significant relationship between family physician and health literacy (r=0.355, P=0.01). Emotional/informational support had a positive and significant effect on the increase in health literacy by 0.427 at a significant level of 0.05. Conclusion: Social support family physician of a community plays a major role in improving the health literacy of the people. Strengthening the communication and human skills of physicians and forming a sincere relationship with people’s trust and confidence in the success of health programs; in particular, increasing the level of health literacy plays a crucial role.