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Impact of Men's Health Screening Programmes on Early Detection of Chronic Diseases among Adult Men in Nigeria

Abstract

Chronic diseases are an important public health concern among adult men and may contribute to premature illness, disability, reduced productivity, and mortality. Conditions such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and certain cancers may develop gradually and remain undetected when individuals do not undergo routine health assessments. Adult men may be less likely to utilize preventive healthcare services because of limited awareness, occupational demands, financial constraints, concerns about medical procedures, perceptions of masculinity, and a tendency to seek healthcare primarily when symptoms become apparent. Men's health screening programmes provide an opportunity to identify chronic disease risk factors and undiagnosed conditions at an early stage, thereby creating opportunities for timely counselling, treatment, monitoring, and referral. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of men's health screening programmes on early detection of chronic diseases among adult men in Nigeria. 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 men's perceptions of their susceptibility to chronic diseases, perceived severity, perceived benefits of screening, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence participation in health screening. Andersen's Behavioral Model explains healthcare utilization through predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, and perceived or evaluated need for healthcare. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, workplace, community, healthcare-system, and broader environmental factors on preventive healthcare utilization. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how men's health screening programmes may influence early detection of chronic diseases among adult men in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adult men aged 18 years and above residing in selected urban, semi-urban, and rural communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, households, healthcare facilities, and eligible participants. Men's health screening programmes will be assessed using indicators such as availability of screening services, screening coverage, frequency of screening activities, accessibility of screening locations, availability of trained healthcare personnel, blood pressure measurement, blood glucose testing, body mass index assessment, waist circumference measurement, cholesterol screening where appropriate, health education, risk assessment, referral arrangements, and follow-up services. Early detection of chronic diseases will be assessed using indicators such as newly identified hypertension, elevated blood glucose or suspected diabetes, obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels, cardiovascular risk factors, suspected chronic disease cases, confirmed diagnoses following appropriate clinical assessment, referrals for further investigation, and linkage to treatment or ongoing disease management. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated health-screening instruments, anthropometric measurements, blood pressure and blood glucose records, laboratory results where appropriate, healthcare facility records, screening registers, referral records, and relevant programme documents. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, screening coverage, and patterns of chronic disease detection. 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 impact of men's health screening programmes on early detection of chronic diseases. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, detection rates before and after implementation of the screening programme may be compared with those of a comparison group 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 men's health screening programmes have a significant positive impact on early detection of chronic diseases among adult men in Nigeria. Men who participate in organized screening programmes are expected to have a higher likelihood of previously undetected hypertension, abnormal blood glucose levels, obesity, cardiovascular risk factors, and other chronic disease indicators being identified than men without access to routine screening. Early detection may provide opportunities for lifestyle counselling, further diagnostic evaluation, timely treatment, monitoring, and referral before diseases progress or complications develop. Community-based, workplace-based, and primary healthcare screening programmes may also reduce geographical and practical barriers to preventive healthcare. However, low awareness, financial constraints, occupational commitments, fear of diagnosis, cultural beliefs, perceptions of masculinity, limited screening equipment, shortage of healthcare personnel, and weak referral and follow-up systems may reduce participation and programme effectiveness. The study therefore expects accessible, affordable, confidential, and well-organized men's health screening programmes to contribute significantly to improved early detection and management of chronic diseases among adult men in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on men's health screening, early detection of chronic diseases, preventive healthcare, non-communicable disease prevention, health-seeking behaviour, adult men's health, community health, 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, primary healthcare facilities, hospitals, employers, occupational health services, community health workers, healthcare professionals, men's health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving preventive healthcare among men. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for expanding accessible men's health screening programmes, integrating chronic disease screening into primary healthcare and workplace health services, improving health education for men, strengthening referral and follow-up systems, increasing access to screening equipment and trained healthcare personnel, and developing sustainable preventive health programmes for adult men across Nigeria.

Keywords: Men's health screening programmes, early detection, chronic diseases, adult men, preventive healthcare, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, health screening, non-communicable diseases, Nigeria, public health.