Preventive health examinations in the adult population – analytical study

Introduction
The adult population in the Slovak Republic can undergo free preventive health check-ups, which are an opportunity for early detection of the disease, allowing the disease to be brought under control.

Aim of the research
To evaluate the attitudes of the adult population towards preventive health check-ups.

Material and methods
The sample consisted of 257 adult individuals. We used a questionnaire of our own design and assessed attitudes on a five-point Likert scale. The data were evaluated using the statistical description method. We used the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. We expressed the order of attitudes by Spearman’s ordinal correlation coefficient.

Results
Women’s attitudes are more positive (x– = 4.12) than men’s attitudes (x– = 4.00). The highest score of ordinal correlation in the whole cohort and in men was for prevention at the dentist (x– = 4.33). In women, it was a stool examination for hidden bleeding (x– = 4.38). The age category 18–30 years considers the least that the preventive examinations are active care for the health (x– = 3.83). Individuals (n = 257) did not consider preventive check-ups as a tool for active care of their health (x– = 4.09) and did not attach importance to them (x– = 4.08). The results (p > 0.05) confirmed that age and gender do not affect the attitudes of respondents.

Conclusions
Preventive health check-ups at the general practitioner are most neglected by the adult population aged 18–30 years. They are a high-risk age group. Men prefer prevention at the dentist, and women prefer stool examination for hidden bleeding.