ARCIMS 26
in
Sunday 2025-10-19 19:51
Investigating the level of public trust in the health system among the population of Esfarayen, 2025
Fateme Soltani 1 ℗, Ahmad Sadeghi * 2 ©, Nasim Pirzadeh 3, Marzieh Mahmoudimanesh 4, Razieh Pirouzeh5 5
Abstract
Introduction:. In recent years, public trust in the health system has been considered as one of the indicators for evaluating the performance of the health system. However, most research on public trust in the health system is related to developed countries, and research on this topic is limited in Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the level of public trust in the health system in Esfarayen County; because a better understanding of trust in the health system and some of the factors affecting it helps in designing targeted interventions to increase trust. Methods and Materials:. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Esfarayen city in 2025. 327 people were selected using cluster sampling. The data collection tool in this study was the Public Trust Standard Questionnaire. The data were analyzed and reviewed using SPSS 27 software. Results: A total of 327 people from Esfarayen participated in this study. The average age of the participants was37.71±12.83, ranging from 18 to 83 years. Most of the participants were women (190-58.10%). The average score of public trust was46.70±16.32. The highest score related to the quality of care dimension was 29.10±7.52 and the lowest score related to the quality of cooperation between providers was5.80±1.49. The highest trust was related to the specialist physician on 19.71±4.94 and the lowest was related to the hospital on 14.29±3.94. a significant relationship was found between public trust and economic situation(p=0.006,h=10.3),employment(p=0.04,h=11.3),history of illness(p=0.02,z=-2.2) existence of supplementary insurance (p=0.008,z=-2.6)and satisfaction with the latest service received(p0.001,h=36.2). Conclusion and Discussion: The average score of public trust indicates an average level of trust in the studied society. This result indicates that although the health system in Esfarayen does not suffer from absolute distrust, it is still far from reaching the desired level. On the other hand, factors such as access to financial resources, type of previous treatment experience, and having insurance support play a reinforcing role in the formation of public trust: factors that can be considered as key axes in future health system policies.
Keywords: Public trust, health system
