The UK has national screening programmes for conditions including cancers, genetic disorders and metabolic diseases. The UK National Screening Committee reviews evidence on the benefits and harms of screening and provides advice on which conditions should be screened for, at which age, and in which population groups.
Decisions about introducing new screening programmes, adding conditions to existing programmes, and changing eligibility criteria are often debated by policymakers, clinicians, patient groups and the public. Evidence of potential benefits and harms of screening can include clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and NHS workforce implications. Equity and ethics are also considered alongside this evidence.
This briefing will consider how screening decisions are made and the evidence that informs them. It will explain concepts important in making decisions about screening, such as false positives and negatives, overdiagnosis, predictive values, test sensitivity and specificity, and the effect of disease prevalence.