Patient satisfaction survey of a self-paid physical checkup program for cancer screening

Early disease detection is an effective way to control diseases. Government sponsored health screening programs show their health value by increasing numbers of participants each year. Self-paid physical checkup programs may complement these programs. The purpose of this study was to examine participants' satisfaction with a self-paid physical checkup program for cancer screening.

This cross-sectional study consisted of two surveys with qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. A random sample of 1000 participants was collected from those who attended the self-paid physical checkup program in two periods. Their needs and expectations with the program with five point scores were analyzed.

Data were collected during the period of January to June, 2001 and again in 2011. The response rates were 93.8% and 59%, and the effective rates were 94% and 71.4%, respectively. The results indicated that participants' items needed and items wished to cancel were similar in both surveys. The self-paid physical checkup program met the needs of participants concerning gastrointestinal, colorectal and abdomen examinations. In contrast, dental, eye and physical examinations, and HIV screening were viewed as less interesting by participants, because of the lack of immediate post-checkup cares or they were not at high risk.

Self-paid physical checkup programs add value to free cancer screening for health maintenance and help provide good physician-patient relationships, health education and post-checkup cares.