Inadequate use of screening and health promotion centers for noncommunicable diseases: A study from Sri Lanka

Healthy Lifestyle Centres (HLCs) in Sri Lanka are facing challenges due to underutilization, despite being state-owned and free-of-charge facilities aimed at screening for major noncommunicable disease risks and promoting healthy lifestyles among adults above 35 years of age. A recent study conducted to address this issue found that only 11.3% of adults were utilizing these centers, highlighting the need for improvement.

The study, which involved 1727 adults aged 35 to 65 years from two districts in Sri Lanka, identified key factors associated with the underutilization of HLCs. Factors such as perceptions of screening usefulness, susceptibility to noncommunicable diseases, peer support for screening and healthy lifestyle, household income categories, knowledge about HLCs, gender, family structure, distance from the center, self-assessed health score, and perceived accessibility to HLCs were significantly associated with utilization or non-utilization of the centers.

The results indicated that interventions aimed at improving HLC utilization should be multifaceted and complex, taking into account these various factors. Merely increasing knowledge about HLCs may not be sufficient to address the underutilization issue effectively.

This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and healthcare providers to design interventions that address the multiple facets influencing the utilization of Healthy Lifestyle Centres in Sri Lanka. By implementing targeted strategies based on these findings, it may be possible to increase the utilization of HLCs and promote healthier lifestyles among the adult population.