Published 3 November 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b4533
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b4533

News

Report calls for public education on screening to ensure more realistic expectations

Susan Mayor

1 London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The public needs to be better informed about the purpose, benefits, and potential harms of screening programmes to overcome unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve, warns a report from UK clinicians and scientists.

The report, Making Sense of Screening, was developed in response to recent media coverage of celebrities who developed cancer, which has made screening a particularly emotive matter.

The treatment of the pop singer Kylie Minogue for breast cancer and the death from cervical cancer at the age of 27 of reality television star Jade Goody led to demands, and promises from politicians, that more people be included in screening programmes and that screening be offered more often, starting at a younger age and continuing for longer.

The authors of the report from Sense About Science, a UK charity that aims to improve public understanding of science, consulted with screening specialists, specialists in public health, and . . . [Full text of this article]


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