Attendance to Non-communicable Disease Screening Services and Its Associated Factors among Rural Adults in Dimbulagala, Sri Lanka

Background: Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) incidence continues to increase globally causing high morbidity and mortality. Despite being a major health problem in Sri Lanka, low attendance is reported in free government NCD screening services (i.e., Healthy life style center (HLC) and the Well Women Clinic (WWC)). This community based study aims to assess the attendance in NCD screening services, and its associated factors among 35 to 65 year adults in Dimbulagala Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area in Sri Lanka. Methods: The community based cross sectional study interviewed resident adults of the Dimbulagala MOH area in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka during August 2016. The sample of residents (n = 575) were selected from 30 housing clusters representing the study setting and an interviewer administered questionnaire was used among residents of both genders to ascertain the data on attendance and factors associated with attendance to NCD screening clinics. Results: Five hundred and thirty-seven (n = 537) questionnaires were successfully administered with a response rate of 93%. The mean age of the study population was 46.5 (Standard Deviation (SD) = 8.75) years. Majority (83.2%) of the study population had scored more than the middle value (i.e., 20) of the knowledge score and only 37.8% individuals have ever attended an NCD screening clinic. The “gender” and “awareness on HLC/WWC” are the most important factors determining the attendance to a screening clinic. Conclusions and recommendations: There is a gap between the respondents’ NCD screening knowledge and attendance to NCD screening services. Main factors associated with attending NCD screening clinics were gender of the study participants and their awareness of HLC or WWC.