Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29203682›Full record

SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2018

Reasons why people do not attend NHS Health Checks: a systematic review and qualitative synthesis.

Emma Harte, Calum MacLure, Adam Martin, Catherine L Saunders, Catherine Meads, Fiona M Walter, Simon J Griffin, Jonathan Mant, Juliet A Usher-Smith

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  13. Barriers and Facilitators of NHS Health Checks in Socioeconomically Deprived Communities in the North East of England: A Qualitative Study With Peer Researchers.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2025
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Understanding access to general practice through the lens of candidacy: a critical review of the literature.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Patients' perspectives on adherence to cardiovascular screening consultation and lifestyle changes.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Emma HarteRAND Europe, Cambridge.
Calum MacLureRAND Europe, Cambridge.
Adam MartinAcademic Unit of Health Economics, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds.
Catherine L SaundersThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Catherine MeadsFaculty of Health, Social Care and Education, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge.
Fiona M WalterThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Simon J GriffinThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Jonathan MantThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge; MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.
Juliet A Usher-SmithThe Primary Care Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_12015/4
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe NHS Health Check programme is a prevention initiative offering cardiovascular risk assessment and management advice to adults aged 40-74 years across England. Its effectiveness depends on uptake. When it was introduced in 2009, it was anticipated that all those eligible would be invited over a 5-year cycle and 75% of those invited would attend. So far in the current cycle from 2013 to 2018, 33.8% of those eligible have attended, which is equal to 48.5% of those invited to attend. Understanding the reasons why some people do not attend is important to maximise the impact of the programmes.

aimTo review why people do not attend NHS Health Checks. DESIGN AND

settingA systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative studies.

methodAn electronic literature search was carried out of MEDLINE, Embase, Health Management Information Consortium, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, PsycINFO, Web of Science, OpenGrey, the Cochrane Library, NHS Evidence, Google Scholar, Google, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the ISRCTN registry from 1 January 1996 to 9 November 2016, and the reference lists of all included papers were also screened manually. Inclusion criteria were primary research studies that reported the views of people who were eligible for but had not attended an NHS Health Check.

resultsNine studies met the inclusion criteria. Reasons for not attending included lack of awareness or knowledge, misunderstanding the purpose of the NHS Health Check, aversion to preventive medicine, time constraints, difficulties with access to general practices, and doubts regarding pharmacies as appropriate settings.

conclusionThe findings particularly highlight the need for improved communication and publicity around the purpose of the NHS Health Check programme and the personal health benefits of risk factor detection.

Indexed as

Health PromotionPreventive Health ServicesState MedicineHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHealth Services AccessibilityHumansPatient Acceptance of Health CareProgram EvaluationQualitative ResearchNHS Health Checkpatient non-attendancequalitative researchsystematic reviewuptake

Identifiers

PMID29203682
PMCPMC5737317

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.