A continuous review of published scientific evidence is at the heart of the work of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC).
The team aims to maintain an active awareness of the latest scientific developments in health screening.
This enables the committee to make evidence-based recommendations to ministers on whether health screening programmes should be implemented, modified or ceased in the NHS across the UK. Our article alert system is one of the many ways in which we stay informed.
What is the article alert system?
The article alert system is an internal circulation of newly published journal articles on screening acquired from a wide range of scientific journals. We also look at articles that are available online before they’re printed, so we can stay on top of the newest developments in health screening technology.
We regularly review recommendations made by other expert groups around the world, such as the US Preventative Services Taskforce (USPSTF), the Canadian Task Force on Preventative Health Care (CTFPHC) and other pan-Europe and Australasia expert groups. We also review the websites of international government agencies, research funders, and health condition-specific advocacy groups for news about advances in screening.
We are always looking for ways to improve the alert system to make it more useful and wide-reaching.
How does it help?
The article alert system is part of the horizon scanning function of the UK NSC. We use it to help keep the committee informed about the best newly available published research. Past editions of article alerts have drawn the committee’s attention to a variety of research work that has subsequently led to international collaboration.
For example, we have:
- been alerted to active research work on multi-cancer early detection tests and liaised with American researchers as a result
- learned about the potential use of polygenic risk scores in screening and discussed this with UK academics
- improved our understanding of genetic errors and how they relate to family history
- learned from the work of similar organisations in other countries
- compared our screening policies with those in other countries, including New Zealand and the Netherlands
- invited researchers to present their work at various meetings, leading to interesting and helpful discussions on important issues
The article alert system plays a crucial role in keeping us aware of new research in health screening. Its positive impact on our work is significant and far-reaching.
Keep up to date
The UK NSC blog provides up to date news from the UK National Screening Committee. You can register to receive updates direct to your inbox, so there’s no need to keep checking for new articles. If you have any questions about this blog article, or about the work of the UK NSC, email uknsc@dhsc.gov.uk.