Reading path

How to read a screening claim

Screening sounds like an unqualified good, yet it is where evidence literacy matters most. This path shows how a screening test earns its recommendation, and where it can mislead.

The path, step by step

1. 1 What Makes a Screening Program Worthwhile, and When Testing Healthy People Does Harm

   6 min read

   The conditions a screening program has to meet to help.

2. 2 Understanding Sensitivity and Specificity, and Why a Test's Real Usefulness Depends on Who Is Being Tested

   6 min read

   How a screening test's two error rates shape its value.

3. 3 Lead-Time Bias: Why Earlier Detection Can Make Survival Look Longer Without Saving Anyone

   6 min read

   Why earlier detection can look like longer survival without adding a day.

4. 4 Cancer Screening Trades Early Detection Against Overdiagnosis

   5 min read

   The central tension: catching disease versus overdiagnosing it.

5. 5 How a USPSTF Letter Grade Is Actually Decided

   5 min read

   How an expert panel turns that evidence into a grade.

Each step is a full article on the Reading the Evidence blog.

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