To screen or not to screen: What factors influence complex screening decisions?

Area of Science:

• Decision Sciences
• Health Communication
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Screenings offer benefits (lives saved) and harms (unnecessary treatments).
• Informed decision-making relies on understanding statistical information about screenings.
• Limited theoretical models address how information comprehension influences screening choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how cognitive skills, emotions, and beliefs affect comprehension of screening benefits and harms.
• To examine the impact of this comprehension on screening intentions.
• To identify factors promoting or hindering informed screening decisions.

Main Methods:

• An experiment involving 347 young adults.
• Participants received information on a disease and numerical data on screening benefits and harms.
• Assessment of cognitive skills (numeracy, science literacy), emotions, beliefs, comprehension, and screening intentions.

Main Results:

• Comprehension of benefits and perceptions of benefits are central to screening decisions.
• Lay perceptions of harms require further investigation.
• Numeracy, science literacy, and emotions facilitate evidence comprehension.
• Emotions and beliefs from campaigns can override evidence in influencing intentions.

Conclusions:

• Theoretical models for screening decisions must incorporate comprehension of benefits and harms.
• Cognitive skills, emotions, and beliefs significantly influence comprehension and decision-making.
• Further research is needed on lay understanding of screening harms.