Practice of Periodic Medical Checks Among Healthcare Workers in Gwagwalada Area Council. Implications for Counselling

Periodic medical checks are important in disease prevention and early detection, yet many healthcare professionals neglect this essential practice. This study examined the attitude and practice of periodic medical checks among healthcare workers in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja, and explored counselling implications for promoting health-seeking behavior. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was employed using a stratified random sampling technique to select 137 healthcare workers across various professions. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA at a 0.05 significance level. The demographic characteristics of the participants revealed that 61.3% of respondents were females, and the majority (46.7%) were aged 35–44 years. Findings indicated that most respondents agreed to the importance of periodic medical checks for early disease detection (mean = 3.70 ± 0.55). However, “intentional neglect due to perceived lack of need” (mean = 3.37 ± 0.63) and “overreliance on professional knowledge” (mean = 3.34 ± 0.67) were common barriers. “Fear of unfavorable outcomes” (mean = 2.96 ± 0.72) and “time constraints “(mean = 2.80 ± 0.76) also contributed to poor compliance. Hypothesis testing showed no significant difference in practice by gender (t = 0.589, p = 0.557) or age (F = 1.15, p = 0.333), but a significant difference by profession (F = 4.07, p = 0.0006), with nurses and midwives demonstrating better adherence. These results revealed the gap between knowledge and practice among health workers. Counselling programme focusing on behavior modification, health belief restructuring, and institutional policy reinforcement are essential to foster regular medical check-ups among healthcare providers, thereby improving their wellbeing and reducing incidences of preventable sudden deaths.