Abstract
The balanced presentation afforded by convening a Citizens’ Jury when considering a major question such as the introduction of a breast screening programme is advocated. This method would enable account to be taken of all the costs, both human and financial, to all those affected, both participating and organizing, as well as the benefits.
Provision of such a democratic opportunity enables consideration to be given to a broad range of factors, by selection of an appropriate range of witnesses, with the advantage of involving the lay public in this decision-making process. Attendance by health correspondents, medical journalists and other media representatives enables publicization of a democracy in action whilst helping to inform the wider debate. Such an exercise could inform whether the NHS BSP should continue in its current form.
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This paper was modified 12 months after initial publication to switch to Creative Commons licence terms, as noted at publication
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This editorial is based on a paper presented at the First Presidential Symposium of the British Oncological Association, 2 March 1998 at the Royal Society of Medicine
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Thornton, H., Baum, M. ‘Should a mammographic screening programme carry the warning: Screening can damage your health!’?. Br J Cancer 79, 691–692 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690111
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690111
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