Perception and Utilization of Health Care Services in Family Practice Centers- Suez Canal Area-Egypt

Background: Users’ perception of the provided health services could influence their utilization and satisfaction. Aim: To assess the community awareness, perceptions and factors affecting service utilization of university-owned Family Practice Centers (FPCs). Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted over a period of three months (15 May 2015 to 15 July 2015) in 9 rural and urban areas served by university-owned FPCs. Data were obtained from 900 respondents using a 22 points structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: The majority of respondents were aware of the Family Practice Centers ( 90.3% rural and 88.0% urban) and most of them (89.1 rural and 84.5 % urban) have utilized these centers. The satisfaction of utilizers reached 88.6% and 80.3% in urban and rural areas respectively. Treatment with courtesy and competency of the medical team have constituted the main reasons of utilizers’ satisfaction whereas, inadequacy of clinical services determined the main reason of their dissatisfaction in urban areas (46.7 %) compared to long waiting time (25%) in rural areas. However, inadequacies of clinical services also emerged as the main reason behind hesitancy to access Family Practice Centers among those who never visited these centers (59.3 % and 51.2 % in rural and urban areas respectively). Conclusion: The local community awareness, utilization and satisfaction with university Family Practice Centers were very high in both rural and urban areas. Treatments with courtesy and competency of the medical team have constituted the main reasons of utilizers’ satisfaction while, inadequacy of clinical services determined the main reason for both dissatisfaction and non-utilization.