Private Hospital Annual Health Checkup and Health Behavior Modification of Clients*

Abstract

This research was a study on the outcomes of a health checkup system on learning
and health behavior modifications in the clients after taking an annual health checkup at a
Health Center in a private hospital. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to
carry out the study. In regard to the quantitative research, data collection was done by using
self-administered questionnaires, 3 times using 194 samples, whereby the first 2 times were
carried out just before and after seeing the physician with the data of taking the medical
checkup being collected and the third time was done 1 month after taking the health checkup.
Data analysis was done by computing percentages, arithmetic mean, standard deviation and
Paired t-test. For the qualitative research part, the data were collected by conducting in-depth
interviews with the clients, physicians, nurses and physician assistants.
The study found that the sample clients had decided to take a health checkup
because they wanted to know their health status (64.4%) and the mean score of the expectation
about the credibility of the physicians and service providers was found to be 4.59. After taking
the health checkup, a significantly higher mean score was obtained from the samples in regard
to health knowledge, understanding of health checkup results, and awareness about health
behaviors, but no significant differences were found about the health behavior mean score prior
to and post health checkup.
The research results reflected that a health checkup system could help develop
knowledge, understanding and awareness about health among clients but could not promote
behavioral modifications in clients. Health service centers should plan health education
programs and follow-up health behaviors in clients continually by organizing effective activities
that could stimulate health behavior modifications in clients until they come back to get health
checkups in subsequent years, in order to lower their risks and the severity of preventable
diseases.