Tailoring preventive actions to meet public expectations and preferences
Loss of independence is a major public health challenge in France, given its rapidly aging population. Taking preventive action from the age of 40 helps to limit the onset of chronic diseases, delay cognitive decline, and promote active aging. However, participation rates in existing preventive healthcare programs remain low, which highlights the need to improve understanding of public expectations and preferences.
Preferences and engagement factors
This study aims to identify preferences in France regarding participation in preventive healthcare programs at key life stages (ages 40–60 and 60–70).
It seeks to assess the choices of individuals in terms of physical activity, nutrition, frailty screening, and fall prevention.
The study will also serve to identify the socioeconomic, behavioral, or psychological factors that influence engagement in preventive programs.
One method of analysis, two age groups
The national survey is being conducted online among a representative sample of the French population, with a total of 3,000 respondents divided into two age groups (40–60 years, and 60 years and over). The survey is based on the discrete choice experiment (DCE) model, which consists in proposing several fictional preventive healthcare scenarios to participants and observing the trade-offs they make.
The data are being collected by the Panelabs polling institute and analyzed by the Aging UP! research consortium. The questionnaires have been validated by the Research Ethics Committee of Université Paris Cité.
Toward better-targeted preventive healthcare policies
The survey was launched in October and November 2025. Its results will provide a better understanding of the key factors influencing participation in preventive healthcare programs and enable us to identify strategies to make them more effective.
These findings will provide public authorities with practical guidance for designing better-targeted and more widely accepted measures that take citizens’ preferences into account. The aim is to use evidence-based recommendations to inform healthcare policy, in order to promote healthy aging and prevent inequalities in access to preventive healthcare.