Predicting attendance at health screening: Organizational factors and patients' health beliefs

The present study firstly considers the effectiveness of two invite methods. Three hundred and twenty-five patients aged between 30 and 50 were invited to attend a general health check either by letter or opportunistically during a routine consultation After six months the two invite methods had similar attendance rates, although the opportunistic method produced fewer patients at screening and was biased in favour of females. The study also examined the health beliefs of attenders (n = 98) and non-attenders (n = 33) who had been sent questionnaires based on the health belief model prior to the commencement of the screening programme. Discriminant analysis revealed attenders to be more likely to report cutting back on everyday activities when ill and to believe in the seriousness of high blood pressure and weight problems. Non-attenders were found to be more worried about the screening appointment. These findings have important implications for those who plan screening services.