Medical students: people skip cancer screenings because they feel healthy
Medical students from the University of Latvia found that residents most often ignore invitations to state-funded cancer screenings because they have no symptoms. They surveyed people in supermarkets during a campaign.
Residents of Latvia most often do not respond to invitations to take state-funded cancer prevention checks because they feel healthy and notice no symptoms of illness. This was found by medical students of the University of Latvia (LU). The finding matters because it suggests that people still lack clear information about the state-funded health checks, or do not pay attention to the invitations.
A campaign in supermarkets
This month, as part of the campaign "Latvija, atver vēstuli!" ("Latvia, open the letter!"), the students spoke with residents in 15 supermarkets about the state-funded cancer prevention checks. The campaign's name points to the letters in which people are invited to attend the checks.
Uncertainty and a flawed approach
According to the students, great uncertainty about these checks persists. A common approach is to see a doctor only when something already hurts. That approach is not right, because the purpose of prevention checks is to examine health even when there are no complaints.
The LSM report also looks at why waiting for pain is a mistake and at what other common reasons lead people to ignore invitations to have their health checked.
