Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2016 Dec 1;17(1):571.
doi: 10.1186/s13063-016-1704-7.

Effect on attendance by including focused information on spirometry in preventive health checks: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Lene Maria Ørts  1 , Anders Løkke  2 , Anne-Louise Bjerregaard  3 , Helle Terkildsen Maindal  4 , Annelli Sandbæk  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect on attendance by including focused information on spirometry in preventive health checks: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Lene Maria Ørts et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Early detection of lung diseases can help to reduce their severity. Lung diseases are among the most frequently occurring and serious diseases worldwide; nonetheless, many patients remain undiagnosed. Preventive health checks including spirometry can detect lung diseases at early stages; however, recruitment for health checks remains a challenge, and little is known about what motivates the attendance. The aim of the study is to examine whether focused information on spirometry in the invitation compared to general information will impact the attendance rate in preventive health checks.

Methods/design: This randomized, controlled trial tests the effect of information on spirometry embedded in the Check your Health Preventive Program (CHPP). The CHPP is an open-label, household cluster-randomized, controlled trial offering a preventive health check to 30- to -49-year-olds in a Danish municipality from 2012 to 2017 (n = 26,216). During 2015-2016, 4356 citizens aged 30-49 years will be randomized into two groups. The intervention group receives an invitation which highlights the value and contents of spirometry as part of a health check and information about lung diseases. The comparison group receives a standard invitation containing practical information and specifies the contents of the general health check. Outcomes are (1) differences in attendance rates measured by the proportion of citizens attending each of the two study groups and (2) proportion of persons at risk defined by smoking status and self-reported lung symptoms in the study groups. The proportion of participants with abnormal spirometry assessed at the preventive health check will be compared between the two study groups.

Discussion: The results from the present study will inform future recruitment strategies to health checks. The developed material on content, value, and information about lung disease is feasible and transferable to other populations, making it easy to implement if effective.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02615769 . Registered on 25 November 2015.

Keywords: Attendance; Preventive health check; Spirometry.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of participants in the Check your Health Preventive Program [20] and the present trial. R 1 household randomization into five groups of equal size, R 2 household randomization into the intervention group or comparison group in the present study before sending of the invitations
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Registry of Causes of Death. Available at: http://sundhedsdatastyrelsen.dk/dar. Accessed 14 Oct 2015.
    1. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Recommendations for early identification, follow-up, treatment and rehabilitation. Copenhagen, Denmark: The National Board of Health; 2007.
    1. Løkke A, Ulrik CS, Dahl R, et al. Detection of previously undiagnosed cases of COPD in a high-risk population identified in general practice. COPD. 2012;9(5):458–465. doi: 10.3109/15412555.2012.685118. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Halding A-G, Heggdal K, Wahl A. Experiences of self-blame and stigmatisation for self-infliction among individuals living with COPD. Scand J Caring Sci. 2011;25(1):100–107. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00796.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dryden R, Williams B, McCowan C, Themessl-Huber M. What do we know about who does and does not attend general health checks? Findings from a narrative scoping review. BMC Public Health. 2012;12(1):723. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-723. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data