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Effect of Community Health Screening Booths on Preventive Health Screening Uptake among Adults in Nigerian Markets

Abstract

Preventive health screening is an important component of disease prevention and early detection because it enables individuals to identify potential health risks before symptoms become severe. Adults who engage in market-based occupations in Nigeria may have limited opportunities to access routine preventive health screening because of demanding work schedules, financial constraints, long waiting times at healthcare facilities, limited awareness, and competing economic responsibilities. Community health screening booths established within public markets can bring basic preventive screening services closer to adults in their places of work and provide convenient opportunities for early detection of common health conditions. Such booths may offer blood pressure measurement, blood glucose testing, body mass index assessment, health-risk assessment, health education, and referral for further evaluation where necessary. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of community health screening booths on preventive health screening uptake among adults in Nigerian markets. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, and the Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains how perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence adults' decisions to participate in preventive screening. Andersen's Behavioral Model emphasizes predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, and healthcare needs as determinants of healthcare utilization. The Social Ecological Model recognizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and environmental factors on access to and utilization of preventive health services. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how community health screening booths may influence preventive health screening uptake among adults in Nigerian markets. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above who work or conduct business in selected public markets across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, markets, trading sections, and eligible participants. Community health screening booths will be assessed using indicators such as availability, accessibility, location, operating hours, frequency of screening activities, availability of trained healthcare personnel, screening equipment, range of services provided, privacy arrangements, health education, referral procedures, publicity, and duration of operation. Preventive health screening uptake will be assessed using indicators such as participation in blood pressure screening, blood glucose testing, body mass index assessment, cardiovascular risk assessment, selected infectious disease screening, cancer screening where appropriate, repeat screening attendance, and referral for confirmatory assessment. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, screening registers, booth attendance records, screening results, referral records, observation checklists, and relevant market health programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, exposure to screening booths, and screening uptake patterns. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of community health screening booths on preventive health screening uptake. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, screening uptake before and after establishment of the booths may be compared with uptake among adults in a comparison market to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that community health screening booths have a significant positive effect on preventive health screening uptake among adults in Nigerian markets. Adults who have access to screening booths within their markets are expected to demonstrate higher participation in preventive screening than adults without comparable access. Locating screening services within markets may reduce time, transportation, and accessibility barriers by allowing traders and other market workers to obtain basic health assessments without leaving their workplaces for extended periods. Convenient operating hours, brief screening procedures, health education, immediate communication of results, and referral guidance may further encourage participation. The booths may also facilitate early identification of individuals with elevated blood pressure, abnormal blood glucose levels, unhealthy weight status, or other health risks requiring further assessment. However, inadequate equipment, insufficient healthcare personnel, privacy concerns, fear of screening results, poor publicity, market congestion, irregular service availability, and weak referral and follow-up systems may limit effectiveness. The study therefore expects accessible, well-equipped, adequately staffed, and regularly operated community health screening booths to contribute significantly to improved preventive health screening uptake among adults in Nigerian markets. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on community-based screening, market-based healthcare services, preventive health screening, early disease detection, healthcare accessibility, health promotion, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, local government health authorities, primary healthcare centres, market associations, community health workers, healthcare providers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for bringing preventive health services closer to economically active populations. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for establishing and sustaining health screening booths in public markets, improving screening equipment and staffing, coordinating with market associations, protecting patient privacy, strengthening referral and follow-up systems, and integrating market-based screening with broader primary healthcare and disease-prevention programmes across Nigeria.

Keywords: Community health screening booths, preventive health screening, screening uptake, market adults, early disease detection, health promotion, community-based screening, healthcare accessibility, primary healthcare, Nigeria, public health.