Identify important principles of a screening test
Learner Task: List the important principles of a screening test.
Educator Checklist: Principles of a Screening Test
Mark the appropriate column to indicate whether the learner included each element in his or her response. When completed, tally the “Included” column to calculate the learner’s score.
| Included =1 | Not Included =0 | |
| The condition should be an important health problem | ||
| There should be a recognizable latent or early symptomatic stage | ||
| The natural history of the condition, including development from latent to declared disease, should be adequately understood | ||
| There should be an accepted treatment for patients with recognized disease | ||
| There should be a suitable test or examination that has a high level of accuracy | ||
| The test should be acceptable to the population | ||
| Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available | ||
| The cost of screening (including diagnosis and treatment of patients diagnosed) should be economically balanced in relation to possible expenditure on medical care as a whole, and screening should be a continuing process and not a ‘once and for all’ project | ||
| There should be an agreed policy on whom to treat as patients |
Source: Principles and Practices of Screening for Disease. World Health Organization.