Screening Programmes Flashcards
Suggest 5 criteria a screening programme must meet?
The Condition:
-Should be an important health problem
-History and development of the condition should be well understood.
The Test:
-Should be simple, safe precise and validated
-Should be acceptable to the population
The Treatment:
-Should be an effective treatment or intervention for patients identified through early detection, with evidence of early treatment leading ti better outcomes than late treatment.
**The programme: **
-The benefit of the programme should outweigh the physical and psychological harm caused by the test, procedures and treatment.
Name 3 well known screening programmes in the UK.
1.Breast screening
2.Cervical screening
3.Bowel Screening
Explain breast cancer screening, what it is, who has it and how often?
- All women aged 50-70
- Mammogram (x-ray of the breasts)
- Every 3 years
Explain cervical cancer screening, what it is, who has it and how often?
- Cervical smear testing for HPV
- Anyone with a cervix aged 25-64
- Every 3 years (25-49)
- Every 5 years (50-64)
Explain bowel cancer screening, what it is, who has it and how often?
- Stool sample testing for presence of blood (FIT)
- Anyone aged 50-74
- Every 2 years
Suggest 3 pros and 3 cons of screening porgrammes.
Pros:
1. Earlier detection may lead to better prognosis
2. Improved health population
3. Potential cost avoidacne and long-term cost savings
Cons:
1.Overdiagnosis
2.False positives
3. False negatives
4. Lead time bias and length time bias
What is meant by lead time bias?
Lead-time bias occurs when a screening test detects a disease earlier than it would have been detected clinically, leading to an apparent increase in survival time, even if the actual disease progression or mortality rate remains unchanged.
What is meant by length time bias?
Overestimation of survival duration due to the relative excess of cases detected that are slowly progressing .
