AICE Thinking Skills Midterm Exam (Paper 2)

Source A

Advertisement from private health clinic

Peace of mind because you acted in time Our Full Body Scan provides immediate insight into your health

A Full Body Scan is a complete physical examination, aimed at detecting how likely you are to develop specific medical conditions. If detected in time, treatment may be available which will slow down the development of the condition or completely cure it. The key focus is on heart disease, cancer and dementia. We can also highlight hereditary factors which make you likely to develop these conditions. Recognising risk will mean effective action can be taken to safeguard your health.

Source B

Extract from magazine for health professionals

Many of the screening tests offered by private health care companies are a waste of time and can even be positively harmful. The carotid artery scan is particularly ill-advised, because the risk of a stroke or death from the treatment (i.e. a carotid endarterectomy) is greater than if things are left alone. So health screening for this condition means such people know that they are at increased risk of a stroke but there is not a safe way of dealing with the condition. Health care companies are not only exploiting people's anxiety about their health for financial gain but they are also contributing to this anxiety.

Source C

Research paper on screening

Health screening is not as effective as it first appears. A false impression is given if all cases of a condition are simply compared. Cases where an unscreened population have sought medical advice because they have detected symptoms of a health condition are likely to have more severe forms of the condition than those in whom the condition has been detected through screening. This means that the recovery rate in the screened population will be better.

Source D

Extract from science journal

An important distinction when judging the effectiveness of health screening is whether it is intended to detect a life-threatening condition, such as cancer, which the individual has developed but is not yet showing any symptoms, or whether it is intended to identify a heightened risk of developing such a condition. The latter is merely speculative and open to the objection that risk is an inherent feature of life. The former, however, is not speculative, and early treatment will mean that the individual is much more likely to be cured of the condition. We should, therefore, support health screening in the former case, even if objecting to it in the latter. Screening could be used to detect non-life-threatening conditions, but because they are not life-threatening, people are unlikely to regard such screening as worthwhile.

Source E

Promotional leaflet from pro-screening lobbying group

Health screening has been shown to extend life in patients diagnosed with cancer. For example, Bert was diagnosed with lung cancer through screening, and he lived for 6 years after his diagnosis, whereas Fred, who was not diagnosed by his doctor until he presented with symptoms, lived for only 3 years after receiving his diagnosis. This is convincing evidence of the benefits of health screening. Critics may say that health screening is too expensive, but even in a world where difficult choices have to be made regarding health expenditure, we can be sure that the money spent on health screening is justified.