CYPRIOTS DO NOT UNDERGO PREVENTIVE MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS - ONLY 21.2% OF WOMEN UNDERWENT PAP TESTS IN 2025 AND ONLY 12.2% OF CHILDREN UNDERWENT VISION SCREENING - Filenews 21/4 by Marilena Panayi
Cypriots avoid preventive examinations, with the Health Insurance Organization concerned by the very low rates recorded in the software of the General Health System and preparing for an information campaign in order to re-inform citizens about the relevant services provided to them through the GHS.
Indicative are the percentages recorded by the HIO and concern the years 2024 and 2025, which clearly show the attitude of the beneficiaries of the System towards the prevention programs implemented within the framework of the General Health System.
So, according to the data recorded in the software system, in 2024, 22.3% of women who were eligible to undergo this examination underwent a Pap test. In 2025, 21% of female beneficiaries underwent this examination, with the percentage for both years as a whole being 42.7%.
The Pap test (Pap Test) is provided by the GHS from the first day of implementation of the System. In cases of women who do not have any symptoms or history, it is carried out every two years until the age of 65. However, in cases where there are indications, symptoms or history that justify repeating the test in a shorter period of time than two years, then the test is fully reimbursed by the GHS regardless of frequency.
In terms of prostate cancer screening, in 2024 42.7% of men over the age of 45 had undergone the relevant test. In 2025, the percentage reached 43.3%. Higher percentages were recorded by men aged 65 and over since in 2024 the percentage of eligible men who underwent this test was 52.2% and in 2025 it was 53.9%. For high-risk men, the test should be done every five years. For men over 50 years of age, every two years and for men over 65 years of age, a specific protocol is followed.
Of particular interest are the very low rates of preventive vision screening in children. In 2024, only 11.9% of the children eligible to be examined had undergone this test, with the percentage reaching 12.2% in 2025. In total, 188,866 children had the right to undergo a vision screening in both years and only 37,539 were subjected.
Preventive vision screening in children aims at the early detection of problems that lead to preventable vision loss. Children are recommended to be examined during the routine check-up by paediatricians, in terms of vision, at the age of 0 to 6 months every 2 months, from 6 months to 2 years every 6 months and from 6 to 18 years every three years. At the age of 3-5 years, a universal screening by an ophthalmologist is recommended.
The percentages of GHS beneficiaries who received the dentist services they are entitled to once a year through the System are also extremely low. According to HIO data, in 2024 32.7% received these services and in 2025 34.1%. A total of 491,155 beneficiaries received the services, while 1,025,814 were eligible.
The HIO, as the head of the Organization's Communication Department, Alexia Makridou, told "F", has already proceeded with the analysis and evaluation of the data and is in the process of preparing a large information campaign for both citizens and doctors with the aim of greater response of GHS beneficiaries to the specific preventive examinations. It is reported that other preventive examinations are offered through the GHS, for which beneficiaries can be informed through personal doctors and paediatricians.
Prevention, said Ms. Makridou, "must be implemented on the basis of documented clinical practice supported by clinical and epidemiological studies, which prove the benefit to public health." Through prevention, he stressed, "all those measures are taken to reduce the various risk factors for the occurrence of a disease, while at the same time through prevention, the progression of a disease and/or its complications is slowed down."
For this reason, he concluded, "we call on our beneficiaries to receive these services offered to them through the GHS and to undergo the preventive examinations provided by the System. Prevention is the cornerstone of any health system and the Organization within its own framework promotes prevention in every case."
