Screening Process Flashcards
What is screening
It’s a quick test to determine if someone is at high risk or low risk of a disease
What is the difference between a positive screen test and a negative screen test
Positive means patient is at a high risk of the disease
negative means they are at a lower risk
What are the steps after a positive screen
A diagnostic test
What is the purpose of screening
To give a better outcome compared to the usual way
Why are there no screening programs for certain conditions such as prostate cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer
Screening can alter the natural history of the disease in significant proportion of the screen
What are the five areas of criteria
Condition Test Intervention Screening program Implementation
What are the evaluation difficulties
Lead time bias
Length time bias
Selection bias
Why is there difficulty in achieving informed choice
Communicating the benefits, harms and risks of preventing interventions can be challenging
What are the two types of error in screening
False positives
False negatives
What are the features of test validity
Sensitivity
Specificity
Positive predictive value
Negative predictive value 
