Alrukban Mohammed, Alsultan Ahmad, Alnasser Alwaleed, Alayban Ahmed, Almousa Mohammed, AlOtaibi Salman, Shaik Shaffi Ahamed
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 14;25(1):1386. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22554-1.
To evaluate and assess the awareness, knowledge, and level of application of recommended Periodic Health Examinations (PHEs) for adolescents in Riyadh.
Descriptive Cross-sectional study, conducted among adolescents between June 2022 and January 2023. The Sample size was 1199 adolescents of both genders, between the ages of 12-20 years, studying in intermediate and secondary schools in Riyadh. The sample of participants was collected through a stratified multistage random sampling technique. Ethical approval and Ministry of Education acceptance were considered. The data was collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire containing close-ended questions. The level of knowledge was assessed by using three knowledge items; PHE definition, PHEs performance time, and the list of recommended PHEs known. The level of performance was assessed based on the performance of recommended (Six recommended PHEs by Saudi CDC) and none-recommended (Nine non-recommended PHEs as distractors).
Among the (1199) adolescents, the vast majority (70.6%) were aware of the PHEs. There is a positive attitude of adolescents toward PHEs, with (75.8%) acknowledging their importance and (87.1%) willing to undergo PHEs if given the opportunity. Despite this positive attitude, the actual knowledge and performance of PHEs remains relatively low, with (56.1%) being illiterate about it and only (36.8%) having undergone PHEs at least once, and a smaller percentage (26.1%) doing so regularly. There was a clear association (p < 0.05) between the level of knowledge and application. Adolescents with adequate knowledge had a higher prevalence of application (56.8% VS 43.2%). There was an association between Adolescents'level of education and their levels of knowledge and performance (p < 0.05). The more educated adolescents the higher their knowledge level and performance level. There was also an association between the availability of health insurance and application. The presence of health insurance increases the probability of applying PHEs. The most used sources of information regarding PHEs were digital sources (62.1%).
The study concluded that there is a positive attitude of adolescents toward PHEs. The study highlights a disparity in knowledge and performance of PHEs among adolescents, influenced by socio-demographic factors such as gender, nationality, type of school, and parental education. Females and students from private or international schools, as well as those with higher levels of parental education, demonstrated better knowledge and higher performance rates of PHEs. The research underscores the role of digital sources in educating adolescents about PHEs. This study emphasizes the need for targeted educational interventions to improve adolescent knowledge and performance of PHEs, considering the identified barriers and socio-demographic influences.
评估利雅得青少年对推荐的定期健康检查（PHE）的知晓度、知识水平及应用程度。
2022年6月至2023年1月期间对青少年开展描述性横断面研究。样本量为1199名年龄在12 - 20岁之间、就读于利雅得初中和高中的青少年，男女不限。参与者样本通过分层多阶段随机抽样技术收集。研究获得了伦理批准并得到了教育部的认可。数据通过一份包含封闭式问题的结构化自填问卷收集。知识水平通过三个知识项目进行评估：PHE的定义、PHE的执行时间以及已知的推荐PHE清单。执行水平根据推荐的（沙特疾病预防控制中心推荐的六项PHE）和非推荐的（作为干扰项的九项非推荐PHE）执行情况进行评估。
在1199名青少年中，绝大多数（70.6%）知晓PHE。青少年对PHE持积极态度，75.8%的人承认其重要性，87.1%的人表示若有机会愿意接受PHE。尽管态度积极，但PHE的实际知识水平和执行情况仍然相对较低，56.1%的人对此不了解，只有36.8%的人至少接受过一次PHE，定期接受PHE的比例更小（26.1%）。知识水平与应用程度之间存在明显关联（p < 0.05）。知识充足的青少年应用比例更高（56.8%对43.2%）。青少年的教育水平与其知识水平和执行情况之间存在关联（p < 0.05）。受教育程度越高的青少年，其知识水平和执行水平越高。健康保险的可获得性与应用情况之间也存在关联。拥有健康保险会增加应用PHE的可能性。关于PHE最常用的信息来源是数字渠道（62.1%）。
该研究得出结论，青少年对PHE持积极态度。该研究突出了青少年在PHE知识和执行方面的差异，这种差异受到性别、国籍、学校类型和父母教育程度等社会人口因素的影响。女性以及来自私立或国际学校的学生，还有父母教育程度较高的学生，在PHE方面表现出更好的知识水平和更高的执行率。该研究强调了数字渠道在教育青少年了解PHE方面的作用。考虑到已确定的障碍和社会人口影响，本研究强调需要有针对性的教育干预措施来提高青少年对PHE的知识水平和执行情况。
