Health screening in a general practice by opportunistic recruitment

this study aims to assess the effectiveness of opportunistic recruitment into a general practice health screening programme and subsequent improvement in screening rates.

a study group of 754 patients aged 30-69 years (345 men, 409 women) in a Wanganui general practice were invited by the doctor when attending the surgery to return for a preventive health check. The check included a self administered screening questionnaire, selected examination items performed by the practice nurse, and a consultation with the doctor to review the findings.

over the three year study period 327 of the men and 392 of the women attended the surgery. An invitation to return for a health check was offered to 307 men and 329 women with completion of health checks by 294 men and 317 women, resulting in a screening rate in the study group of 85% for men and 78% for women. Selected screening indicators showed improvement with blood pressure recording increasing from 48% to 85% for men, and cervical cancer screening improving from 45% to 87% for women.

opportunistic recruitment by the doctor's personal invitation proved an effective approach to health screening in this practice with significant improvement in selected screening indicators.