The "Adamed for the Family" campaign looked into the health of Poles

The "Adamed for the Family" is a social campaign launched by Adamed Pharma, offering a one stop clinic for a wide range of free medical tests and consultations. During this year’s edition, it was possible e.g. to test your heart, lungs or eyes, have an ultrasound scan, check your diabetes status, consult a urologist as well as participate in mental health workshops or talk to a psychiatrist.

"The objective of the campaign was to reach residents of smaller towns where access to medical specialists is particularly difficult. We wanted to remind patients of the importance of prevention and to make them aware of the effects of their lifestyle, pandemic-related neglect or disease development, but above all to give them a chance to get tested and consult a doctor, and thus to improve the health of our population. Another initiative included in the program was to check the health status, and therefore we conducted an opinion survey. Our interviewers were present at all the events and an additional online survey helped to achieve group representativeness. As a result, we were able to prepare a comprehensive publication that takes a deeper look at topics related to specific diseases, prevention or lifestyle. Nearly 100 questions were provided with additional comments from experts," reports Katarzyna Dubno, Director for External Relations and Health Economics at Adamed Pharma S.A.

"The Health Status of Poles" report provides an up-to-date picture of the health situation in Poland.

"The report on the health status of Poles, prepared as part of the ‘Adamed for the Family’ campaign, is a real mine of information if we think about chronic diseases or widespread diseases in our country. It is worth noting that the data presented here are for more than 1,000 respondents from across Poland. Importantly, about 40% of them come from villages or small towns. When we talk about prevention, chronic diseases, accessibility to screening tests or specialized care, this is the target group that is usually underestimated and has difficult access to specialists," believes Prof. Maciej Kupczyk, President of the Polish Society of Allergology.

Good general health – say patients, but specialists do not agree

Nearly half of the respondents rated their physical health as good, as compared to their peers, and more than half of them similarly rated their ability to take care of their health. The most commonly recognized disease among the respondents was hypertension. On the other hand, back pain and headaches were specified as health complaints that most respondents suffer from at least several times a month. One in three respondents admitted that they last visited a primary care physician last month, while one in four respondents visited a GP more than a year ago. A vast majority of the respondents have never been to see a specialist such as diabetologist, psychologist or psychiatrist. One in three respondents had an appointment with a urologist or gynecologist more than a year ago. A total of 8.2% of those surveyed have never seen an eye doctor and almost half of them had an eye appointment more than a year ago.

Mental health and physical fitness need improvement

Depression was the most common mental problem specified by the respondents (13.2%). A total of 21.3% of respondents indicated that they were emotionally, mentally or physically exhausted by their work. Insomnia or daytime sleepiness was declared by a similar percentage of respondents (30.2% vs 29.7%). Interestingly, the youngest group of respondents most often specified sleep problems and emotional, mental or physical exhaustion from work, but this percentage decreased with age. More than 1/3 of the respondents admitted having experienced stressful situations even several times a week.

"The report showed that despite the increase in the demand for specialists such as psychologist or psychiatrist, few Poles use their services. There may be many reasons for this, such as shame that they are unable to cope on their own, underestimation of the need for help to deal with emotional problems, which could be best explained not only by the difficult access to specialists, but also by the lack of time. As the report shows, as many as 63% of those surveyed have never been to a psychologist and as many as 69.1% have not seen a psychiatrist," says Prof. Małgorzata Janas-Kozik, a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist and pediatrics specialist, who also is a member of the Polish Psychiatric Association.

Prevention needed: heart and respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer

As many as 7 out of 10 respondents did not have a lipid profile test in the past year. Moreover, only one in three respondents had their last ECG test less than 12 months ago, while 38.2% of the respondents have never had a cardiac ECHO test. One in two respondents did not check their cholesterol levels in the past year. One in five respondents indicated that they had never had a test to check their glucose or glycated hemoglobin levels.

Spirometry tests were never used by 15.7% of the respondents with respiratory diseases and almost 2/5 of the patients had such a test more than 2 years ago.

Almost half of the men surveyed over the age of 40 had never had a PSA test. More than half of the men surveyed also admitted that they have never had their testicles examined by a doctor, and nearly half of them also said they do not perform testicular self-examinations. Nearly 6 out of 10 respondents indicated that they had never had a digital rectal exam.

A vast majority of the respondents declared that they have never had a colonoscopy, 3 out of 10 respondents, despite having nevi, do not get checked by a dermatologist, and one in four respondents do not use a sunscreen when sunbathing. One in ten female respondents have never had a cytology test, one in four have never had a screening breast ultrasound scan, one in five women do not perform breast self-examination, and more than 2/5 of the survey participants have never had breast screening (mammogram).

"The health status and lifestyle of Poles shown in the report indicates that there is still a need to raise awareness of the importance of prevention. Our diet still contains mostly meat and too many unhealthy drinks, and we are not physically active enough. Educating patients about the impact of lifestyle on the risk of lifestyle diseases is the first step to encourage people towards preventive screening. However, the key to success is to make it possible for Polish people to have screening tests and consult a doctor, to make medical services widely and generally available. Otherwise, we will not improve the health of our population – we will not reduce the so-called Poland's health debt. Campaigns like the one by Adamed are very important and valuable because they provide a large portion of the population with an opportunity to take advantage of services that are not available on a regular basis where they live," says Professor Filip Szymański, President of the Society of Diseases of Civilization.

The ‘"damed for the Family" campaign that includes "The Health Status of Poles" report is sponsored by the Polish Society of Diseases of Civilization, the Polish Society of Allergology and the Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education.

For more information on the campaign, go to www.AdamedDlaRodziny.com.

About the report

"The Health Status of Poles" report presents results of the survey involving participants of the ‘Adamed for the Family’ campaign in 6 cities: Pabianice, Kołobrzeg, Leszno, Katowice, Ełk and Nowy Sącz, as well as an online survey. The total sample of the survey is 1011 adult residents of Poland, broken down by gender, age and voivodeship. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the BioStat Research and Development Center using the CAWI surveying methodology and the Badanie Opinii (Opinion Poll) survey platform. During the ‘Adamed for the Family’ campaign, patients had the opportunity to have a medical consultation and the following tests: heart ECHO scan, lipid profile: total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides; glucose test; blood pressure and pulse tests; spirometry; eye examinations; diabetes-oriented examinations (glycated hemoglobin HbA1c level); examinations by a urologist plus consultations, and ultrasound scans. The statistics related to the campaign are presented in the report according to the gender of the patients, their age and the area where they had their medical visit as part of the campaign.

The report can be accessed here:

Adamed dla Rodziny_Raport o stanie zdrowia Polaków.pdf

A summary of the report with infographics can be downloaded at: Summary of Adamed Health Report

source: Polska Press