Secondary prevention: principles and good practice/screening tests

Abstract

Screening can be a very important means to reduce the morbidity and mortality of conditions that cannot currently be prevented. However, it also has the capacity to do harm by incorrectly labelling people as having a condition, when in reality they do not, thus causing anxiety and sometimes resulting in unnecessary interventions. The UK National Screening Committee recommends national policy on screening on the basis of the evidence of the overall effects of a potential programme and its cost-effectiveness. Once a programme is introduced, it should be carefully monitored to ensure that it lives up to expectations, coverage is appropriately high, the expected outcomes are delivered, and that it does not increase inequality. More detail can be found on the UK National Screening Committee website.