In public health, screening refers to which practice?

In public health, screening refers to which practice?

• A. Testing asymptomatic populations to identify disease early; high sensitivity and appropriate follow-up are important.
• B. Testing symptomatic individuals to diagnose.
• C. Mass vaccination strategy.
• D. Counting hospital admissions.

Answer: (A)

Screening is testing people who do not have symptoms in order to find disease early so that treatment can reduce harm later. The best description emphasizes testing asymptomatic populations to identify disease early, with high sensitivity and appropriate follow-up because catching true cases early matters, and any positive screen should lead to confirmatory testing and treatment decisions. This isn’t diagnostic testing, which is used when someone already has symptoms. It isn’t a vaccination strategy, which aims to prevent disease rather than detect it. It isn’t counting hospital admissions, which is a way to monitor disease burden rather than screen individuals for early disease.

Screening is testing people who do not have symptoms in order to find disease early so that treatment can reduce harm later. The best description emphasizes testing asymptomatic populations to identify disease early, with high sensitivity and appropriate follow-up because catching true cases early matters, and any positive screen should lead to confirmatory testing and treatment decisions.

This isn’t diagnostic testing, which is used when someone already has symptoms. It isn’t a vaccination strategy, which aims to prevent disease rather than detect it. It isn’t counting hospital admissions, which is a way to monitor disease burden rather than screen individuals for early disease.