Health screening
Screening is a way of finding out if apparently healthy people are at higher risk of a health problem or condition. Once identified, they can be offered further tests, information and interventions of potential benefit. Screening should always be a personal choice.
The screening process
The screening process can be compared to putting people through a sieve.
The sieve represents the screening test and most people pass through it. This means they have a low chance of having the condition (health problem) being screened for.
The people left in the sieve have a higher chance of having the condition and may need further confirmatory diagnostic tests.
At each stage of the screening process, you can make your own choices about further:
- tests
- treatment
- advice
- support
Screening results
If you get a normal result (a screen negative result) after a screening test, this means you are at low risk of having the condition you were screened for.
This does not mean you will never develop the condition in the future, just that you are low risk at the moment.
If you have a higher-risk result (a screen positive result), it means you may have the condition that you've been tested for. You will be offered further tests (called diagnostic tests) to confirm if you have the condition (health problem). You can then be offered treatment, advice and support.
Finding out about a problem early can mean that treatment is more effective. However, screening tests are not 100 per cent accurate and they can lead to difficult decisions about having further tests or treatment.
It is important to have realistic expectations of what screening can do.
Screening can:
- save lives or improve quality of life through early identification of a condition
- reduce the chance of developing a serious condition or its complications
In any screening programme, there are false positive and false negative results.
A false positive is when someone gets a positive screening result who does not have the target condition.
A false negative is when someone gets a negative screening result who does have the target condition.
These false negative or false positive results can be harmful, as someone may either be falsely reassured or be unnecessarily worried and perhaps have invasive or harmful tests or treatments which they do not need.
Making an informed choice
Before having any screening test, it's worth finding out about the test itself and what would happen next if you found out you have a higher risk of a particular condition.
Deciding whether to have a screening test is a personal choice. It is one that only you can make.
When you are invited for screening, you will receive an information leaflet about the screening test.
You can discuss any aspect of the screening test with your health professional and decide whether it's right for you.
Screening programmes in Northern Ireland
The following screening programmes are offered in Northern Ireland:
- abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
- bowel cancer screening
- breast cancer screening
- cervical screening
- diabetic eye screening
- infectious diseases during pregnancy screening (hepatitis B, HIV, syphilis and rubella susceptibility)
- newborn screening (hearing and blood spot screening)