Evaluation of Screening

Evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of a public health screening program is essential to ensuring the program's success in identifying and managing diseases. To evaluate a screening program, a comprehensive assessment of its benefits, harms, and resource implications is required. This includes considering factors such as the prevalence of the condition, the test's accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and potential overdiagnosis. Additionally, it is important to assess the program's impact on the population's overall health, equity of access, and participation rates. Ultimately, the evaluation should provide evidence-based recommendations on the continuation, modification, or discontinuation of the screening program, ensuring the most optimal use of resources and maximizing benefits to the target population.

References

• This text was originally generated on 28 March 2023 by ChatGPT4.0 and reviewed by Arnold Bosman.
• Wilson, J. M. G., & Jungner, G. (1968). Principles and practice of screening for disease. World Health Organization. (For principles of screening and evaluation)
• Andermann, A., Blancquaert, I., Beauchamp, S., & Déry, V. (2008). Revisiting Wilson and Jungner in the genomic age: a review of screening criteria over the past 40 years. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 86(4), 317-319. (For an updated discussion on the principles of screening)
• Pepe, M. S. (2003). The Statistical Evaluation of Medical Tests for Classification and Prediction. Oxford University Press. (For measures of accuracy in screening)
• Gordis, L. (2013). Epidemiology (5th edition). Elsevier/Saunders. (For a comprehensive understanding of screening, evaluation, and related epidemiological concepts)

(this text was not part of the original 2017 FEMWIKI)