Keywords: preventive medicine, primary care, screening, healthcare services

Background:

Preventive health services are central to reducing morbidity and mortality through early diagnosis and timely intervention. Their utilization is shaped by self-rated health, socio-economic factors, and behavioural determinants. While previous studies in Türkiye have drawn on Turkish Health Survey (TSA) data, few have explored temporal trends in preventive service use from a primary care–oriented perspective or compared these with European benchmarks.

Research questions:

What are the trends in preventive health service utilization among Turkish adults over a 14-year period, and how have health status and its determinants influenced this utilization? How do these patterns compare to those in the EU?

Method:

This retrospective repeated cross-sectional study will analyse microdata from seven TSA waves (2008–2022). Adults within national screening age ranges (e.g. 30–65 for cervical cancer) will be included. Dependent variables include the self-reported use of nine preventive services (e.g. influenza vaccination, cancer screenings). Independent variables comprise self-rated health, socio-demographics, and behavioural determinants. Analyses will involve descriptive statistics, univariate tests and multivariate logistic regression to identify predictors of service use.

Results:

We expect to observe increasing but uneven uptake across services and subgroups, influenced by socio-economic gradients and self-rated health. Initial trends suggest lower utilization among adults with poor perceived health and limited education. These findings will be compared with EUROSTAT data to highlight gaps and opportunities for alignment with EU standards.

Conclusions:

The study aims to generate policy-relevant evidence on inequalities in preventive care use. By identifying underutilized services and vulnerable subgroups, it will support the development of more targeted interventions and help strengthen primary care delivery in Türkiye and comparable European contexts.

Points for discussion:

How can cross-sectional survey data be effectively used to monitor population-level trends and inform more targeted prevention policies over time?

What analytical strategies can be used to explore the dual role of poor self-rated health as both a motivator and a barrier?