Community Health Screenings Impacting Intention to Change Lifestyle: A Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND Health fairs and associated screenings are a widely-utilized method to get the community involved in health awareness and health risk, in hopes of motivating the improvement of healthy behaviors and referral to healthcare to prevent/treat chronic diseases. However, there is little research on their effectiveness and influence on behavioral intention, behavior, and health outcomes of participants. The purpose of this study was to provide preliminary investigation of the effectiveness of self-selected health screenings on intention to improve risk in rural, adult populations in Texas. METHODS: Data were collected as a part of a statewide project, Community Conversations on Health , in partnership with the Texas Department of State Health Services. Family health expos were hosted in 21 rural communities across 20 counties offering lifestyle-related health screenings: blood pressure/heart rate, handgrip strength, waist circumference, physical activity frequency, and fruit/vegetable intake. Expo attendees were allowed to self-select screenings, to maintain autonomy support—a theoretical foundation of the project. After each screening, participants were asked an intention question on a 5-point Likert-type scale. RESULTS: 170 adults (59.93 ± 16.15 years of age; 73% women) participated in at least one screening: blood pressure (95%), handgrip strength (83%), heart rate (79%), fruit/vegetable intake (72%), physical activity level (68%), WC (35%). Overall mean intention to improve ranged from 3.92 ± 0.84 (handgrip strength) to 4.21 ± 0.59 (WC), with no statistically significant differences between means ( Wilks’ Lambda = 0.82, F (4, 16) = 0.88, p = 0.50). The only statistically significant mean difference in intention between risk classification groups ( t = -4.67, p < 0.001) was in WC, with those classified as very low/low risk (3.79 ± 0.43, n = 14) being statistically significantly lower than those classified as high/very high risk (4.60 ± 0.51, n = 15). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide preliminary support that self-selected, community health screenings can positively impact intention to improve the risk/results of screenings. Future research should confirm findings with a larger sample and pre-post assessment of intention as well as potential impact on health behavior change.