Screening : Evidence and Practice

Screening programmes involve the systematic offer of testing for populations or groups of apparently healthy people to identify individuals who may be at future risk of a particular medical condition or disease, with the aim of offering intervention to reduce their risk. For many years, screening was practised without debate, and without evidence, but in the 1960s serious challenges were raised about many of the screening procedures then being practised. Benefits and harms of screening must be measured in high quality trials, and the benefits of screening must benweighed alongside the negative side-effects. Concerns were raised about potential and actual harm arising when people without a health problem received dangerous and unnecessary investigations and treatments as a result of routine screening tests. Controversy raged, and it took some 50 years to achieve widespread recognition that evidence-based and quality assured programme delivery was essential, coupled with provision of balanced informed to enable informed choice for potential participants. Commercially motivated provision of poor quality and non-evidence based screening tests is increasing and screening remains a highly contested topic that has relevance in all health systems including for the general public and media. This book serves as a practical and comprehensive guide to all aspects of screening. Following the international success of the first edition, this second edition brings extensive updates and new case study material. The first section deals with concepts, methods, and evidence, charts the story of screening back to 1861, and covers all aspects of a screening programme and how to research the full consequences. The second section is a practical guide to sound policy-making and to high quality delivery of best value screening. The controversies, paradoxes, uncertainties, and ethical dilemmas of screening are explained, and each chapter is packed with examples, real-life case histories, helpful summary points, and self-test questions. Reference is made to the NHS, a leader in screening, but the primary focus is on universal principles, making the book highly relevant across the globe. "Screening programmes involve the systematic offer of testing for populations or groups of apparently healthy people to identify individuals who may be at future risk of a particular medical condition or disease, with the aim of offering intervention to reduce their risk. For many years, screening was practised without debate, and without evidence, but in the 1960s serious challenges were raised about many of the screening procedures then being practised. Benefits and harms of screening must be measured in high quality trials, and the benefits of screening must be weighed alongside the negative side-effects. Concerns were raised about potential and actual harm arising when people without a health problem received dangerous and unnecessary investigations and treatments as a result of routine screening tests. Controversy raged, and it took some 50 years to achieve widespread recognition that evidence-based and quality assured programme delivery was essential, coupled with provision of balanced informed to enable informed choice for potential participants. Commercially motivated provision of poor quality and non-evidence based screening tests is increasing and screening remains a highly contested topic that has relevance in all health systems including for the general public and media. This book serves as a practical and comprehensive guide to all aspects of screening. Following the international success of the first edition, this second edition brings extensive updates and new case study material. The first section deals with concepts, methods, and evidence, charts the story of screening back to 1861, and covers all aspects of a screening programme and how to research the full consequences. The second section is a practical guide to sound policy-making and to high quality delivery of best value screening. The controversies, paradoxes, uncertainties, and ethical dilemmas of screening are explained, and each chapter is packed with examples, real-life case histories, helpful summary points, and self-test questions. Reference is made to the NHS, a leader in screening, but the primary focus is on universal principles, making the book highly relevant across the globe."--Publisher's description Muir Gray, Anne Mackie and Angela Raffle have been at the forefront of achieving improvements in UK screening over recent years, and they bring a wealth of experience to this non-technical introductory guide covering all aspects of screening. As USA expert Gilbert Welch describes it, this book is “A readable yet encyclopaedic guide to screening: its history, its key design elements, its implementation and policy challenges... A must read for clinicians, managers, and policy makers who would like to assist Raffle Mackie and Gray in achieving their goal: ‘to sort out the mess’.” The first four chapters deal with concepts, methods and evidence, explaining what screening is and how it is evaluated. Chapters five to eight describe practical aspects, for example how to make policy, and how to deliver screening to a high standard. The book includes numerous examples and real-life case histories, giving important reminders of the need to be vigilant for the hidden influence of commercial incentives and ‘bad science’ if we are to achieve best value health and healthcare. A comprehensive glossary makes medical terms accessible to all, and each chapter concludes with a summary and self-test questions. Reference is made to the UK National Health Service, a leader in screening, but the book is internationally relevant because the principles of good screening apply in any setting. The controversies, paradoxes, uncertainties, and ethical dilemmas of screening are explained in a balanced way. Foreword Preface Endorsements Acknowledgements Contents 1 How screening started 2 What screening is, and is not 3 What screening does 4 Measuring what a screening programme does 5 Implementing screening programmes 6 Quality-assuring screening programmes 7 Day-to-day management of screening programmes for public health practitioners and managers 8 Making policy on screening programmes Answers Glossary References Index A comprehensive, practical, and accessible guide to screening programmes, for public health practitioners and anyone else involved in or with an interest in screening. It covers the concepts and evidence behind screening, how to make sound policy on screening, and how to plan and deliver high quality programmes at affordable cost.