Awareness of the population about clinical examination and implementation of preventive screening for tumor diseases in the health care system

Abstract

In the Russian healthcare system, the main method of preventive medicine is regular preventive examinations and medical examinations. Purpose. To study the population’s awareness of preventive examinations and medical examinations and participation in them; analyze methods for performing medical examinations in relation to oncological diseases (OC) and their results. Material and methods. An observational study was conducted with a survey of a random sample of the adult population of Moscow; 461 respondents aged 18–79 years took part in the survey. The main research method is personal interviewing using a unified questionnaire regarding the set of characteristics being studied. Results. In the study sample, 33.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] – 28.8–37.6) of respondents knew nothing about the purposes of medical examination or had incorrect ideas; 65.5% (95% CI – 61.07–69.9). 40.6% (95% CI – 36.03–45.07%) of respondents knew nothing about methods of preventing OH or had incorrect knowledge. Of the 4 screening tests for early diagnosis of certain most common forms of OH, only 2 tests were carried out in the majority of people undergoing clinical examination: examination by a gynecologist with a cytological examination of smears from the cervix - in 83.2% of women; mammography – in 77% of women aged 40–70 years. A stool test for occult blood was performed in only 31% of respondents aged 40–70 years; a full examination to identify visual localizations of OA was performed in 7.8%. Conclusion. Opportunities for the prevention of OH remain largely unrealized. The results of this study show that clinical examination is carried out in a small part of the population. At the same time, in persons undergoing medical examination, it is rarely performed in full.