Mass screening: Difference between revisions

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imported>Robert Badgett
(New page: '''Mass screening''', more simply called screening, is defined in health care as "organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease."<r...)
 
imported>Robert Badgett
(Added a section borrowed from WP)
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'''Mass screening''', more simply called screening, is defined in health care as "organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease."<ref name="title-Mass+Screening">{{cite web |url=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?term=Mass+Screening |title=Mass screening |accessdate=2007-12-06 |author=National Library of Medicine |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref> The goal of screening is the ''primary prevention'', "the prevention of disease or mental disorders in susceptible individuals or populations"<ref name="title-Primary+prevention">{{cite web |url=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?term=Primary+prevention |title=Primary prevention |accessdate=2007-12-06 |author=National Library of Medicine |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref>, of disease.
'''Mass screening''', more simply called screening, is defined in health care as "organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease."<ref name="title-Mass+Screening">{{cite web |url=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?term=Mass+Screening |title=Mass screening |accessdate=2007-12-06 |author=National Library of Medicine |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref> The goal of screening is the ''primary prevention'', "the prevention of disease or mental disorders in susceptible individuals or populations"<ref name="title-Primary+prevention">{{cite web |url=http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?term=Primary+prevention |title=Primary prevention |accessdate=2007-12-06 |author=National Library of Medicine |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref>, of disease.
==When is mass screening justified?==
According to [[World Health Organization]] guidelines published in 1968:<ref name="Wilson-1968">{{cite web |url=http://whqlibdoc.who.int/php/WHO_PHP_34.pdf |title=Principles and Practice of Screening for Disease |accessdate=2007-12-06 |author=Wilson JMG, Jungner G |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=1968 |format=pdf |work= |publisher=Wolrd Health Organization |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref>
# The condition should be an important health problem.
# There should be a treatment for the condition.
# Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available.
# There should be a latent stage of the disease.
# There should be a test or examination for the condition.
# The test should be acceptable to the population.
# The natural history of the disease should be adequately understood.
# There should be an agreed policy on who to treat.
# The total cost of finding a case should be economically balanced in relation to medical expenditure as a whole.
# Case-finding should be a continuous process, not just a "once and for all" project.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 15:12, 6 December 2007

Mass screening, more simply called screening, is defined in health care as "organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease."[1] The goal of screening is the primary prevention, "the prevention of disease or mental disorders in susceptible individuals or populations"[2], of disease.

When is mass screening justified?

According to World Health Organization guidelines published in 1968:[3]

  1. The condition should be an important health problem.
  2. There should be a treatment for the condition.
  3. Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available.
  4. There should be a latent stage of the disease.
  5. There should be a test or examination for the condition.
  6. The test should be acceptable to the population.
  7. The natural history of the disease should be adequately understood.
  8. There should be an agreed policy on who to treat.
  9. The total cost of finding a case should be economically balanced in relation to medical expenditure as a whole.
  10. Case-finding should be a continuous process, not just a "once and for all" project.

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Mass screening. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
  2. National Library of Medicine. Primary prevention. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
  3. Wilson JMG, Jungner G (1968). Principles and Practice of Screening for Disease (pdf). Wolrd Health Organization. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.