The Isle of Man Public Health Directorate has launched a pilot scheme designed to identify potential health problems and nip them in the bud.
Suitability checks have begun at the Ramsey Group practice in the north of the island, as part of a project that could also help shape future services.
They look at the lifestyle, mental health and basic physical health of people aged 18-39.
Public health consultant Dr Ross Cate said supporting people early to make small preventative changes would make a “huge difference later”.
About 3,500 people in the north of the island in this age group are eligible for testing.
The checks will be carried out by two pre-existing nurses to support GP staff and will not replace GP appointments, Cate explained, adding that the cost would be minimal and would be absorbed by the Ramsay Group.
He said it was hoped the scheme would be expanded to island-wide services, with the pilot offering health and care services a “blueprint” for rollout to other areas.
Frailty coordinator Georgia Zaparoli, who typically worked with people in their later years, said the 18 to 39 age range was key because “common themes” ran through the lifestyle of many older patients.
Getting people to develop “good habits” before they reach age 50 means “in 30 years we won’t have the same needs in the general population that we have now,” Zaparoli said.
She added that people between the ages of 18 and 39 tend to neglect themselves by “working longer hours than we do in our entire lives.”
“Because we can, because we’re young, we push ourselves too hard, we burn the candle at both ends, which creates problems that arose when people were in their 50s,” she said.
Questions in the appointments will also look at people’s living situations, employment status, social life and physical activity — to help shape future services, Zaparoli said.
“If we discover, for example, that 60% of our young people are working in very strenuous physical work, we will need to make sure we have invested in physiotherapy in 20 years,” she said.
She added that while the questions “may seem a bit probing,” no one is being “judged” and it is important to get honest answers to invest in the right services for the island.