Cardiovascular screening for men at high risk in Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust: the 'Deadly Trio'...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
• Health Disparities

Background:

• The Deadly Trio programme targeted cardiovascular health checks for men over 40 in inner-city Birmingham.
• The initiative aimed to increase diagnosis of diabetes, cardiovascular, and kidney disease in a deprived, ethnically diverse population.
• Health checks were delivered by either general practitioners (GPs) or alternative providers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Deadly Trio programme in increasing screening uptake and disease diagnosis.
• To identify patient and practice factors associated with screening participation and disease register inclusion.

Main Methods:

• Routine data were collected from 68 participating general practices.
• Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with screening and disease register addition.

Main Results:

• Screening data were obtained from 58 practices, with 24.3% of eligible men participating.
• Screening uptake was higher among South Asians and Black men, and those with recorded phone numbers, but lower in smokers.
• Men registered with single-handed GPs paid for health checks showed higher uptake compared to the alternative provider.

Conclusions:

• The programme successfully increased screening uptake and disease diagnosis among minority ethnic men.
• Single-handed general practitioners (GPs) paid to provide screening demonstrated greater responsiveness than multi-partner practices.