Background-
For decades, public health, the government, and the news media have preached the mantra of early detection, and spent millions of dollars to spread the word. Now, the hypothesis that increased screening at all costs, is vital to health and longevity is being questioned. Researchers and bioethicists are beginning to question the outcome vs. costs, and potential for harm vs. potential benefit. The United States Preventive Services Task Force now recommends that most women delay the start of routine mammograms until they are 50, rather than 40. It also recommended that women receive the test every two years rather than annually, and that physicians not train women to perform breast self-examination. They also recommend delaying Pap smears until age 21- regardless of sexual history, and then to be performed every three years from ages 21-65 (with adjustments for certain clinical considerations), asserting that mammograms and Pap smears can cause more harm than good for women of certain ages.
As public health professionals, we realize the immense good that comes from health screenings, but we still have to weigh out the pros and cons, as well as potential ethical issues, which may become increasingly more salient with increased technological advances (an example would be genetic testing to assess disease risk and treatment options leading to the potential for rationing health care).
Instructions-
For this assignment, I would like you to reflect upon a previous experience you may have had with healthcare screenings. You can go out into the community and experience first hand or you can reflect upon previous or theoretical experiences. If you have not ever had a screening of any kind, feel free to theorize and research potential issues. The written reflection can be on screening can be of your choice but I would like you think about what you experienced and hypothesize about any potential issues that you could have potentially encountered. Anything from a simple BMI or blood pressure assessment, to BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic testing is acceptable.
1. Assess the screening process from start to finish for any potential ethical issues you could have encountered.
2. Critically think about your personal (or theoretical) experience and any potential ethical issues involved.
3. Discuss these issues and hypothesize potential solutions to address the ethical challenges.
4. Please leave out any personal/private information from your write-up, and focus instead on the ethical considerations of the experience, etc.
I have included some resources that may help you to start thinking about the types of ethical issues that may be involved with screening.
Ethical economic, legal and social aspects of screening
(Please also see ethical, social and legal implications of a genetic screening test)
Health Knowledge
All written submissions should be academically sound and free of typos or grammatical errors. Submissions must follow current APA requirements, with 1-inch margins, typed in 12-point Times New Roman font, double spaced, and include an appropriate title page, running heads, page numbers, correctly formatted in-text citations and references where appropriate, and be uploaded as .doc or .docx documents.
Background- For decades, public health, the government, and the news media have
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