site.btaOne in 10 Bulgarians Has Never Had Annual Checkup - Survey

One in 10 Bulgarians has never had an annual medical checkup. This is more typical of people under 30 years of age, according to a recent nationwide survey by the Trend Research Centre, unveiled at a BTA-hosted news conference in Sofia on Tuesday.

Asked about the last time they had an annual medical checkup, 32% of respondents say it was earlier this year, another 31% say it was last year, and 15% say it was more than two years ago. Some 11% say they have never had a routine annual checkup.

Women are more often informed about routine checkups than men, Dimitar Ganev of Trend said. According to Ivan Evstatiev of the Hub For Health Foundation, a delayed checkup may mean late diagnosis.

Evstatiev cited data from the National Health Insurance Fund showing that a little under 2 million Bulgarians had an annual medical checkup in 2022, and 1 million had such a checkup between January and June 2023.

The survey also looked at the ways patients communicate with their personal physician. About 39% of respondents say they usually call their doctor on the phone to make an appointment for a checkup, 32% for consultation, and 25% for a sick note, a referral letter or some other reason. Nearly 39% of interviewees say they do not contact their personal physician by telephone.

The survey was conducted between September 2 and 9, 2023 by face-to-face interviews with 1,002 adult Bulgarian citizens.