MId Life Health Survey- a waste of public money?

I agree with you luckygirl and my big question remains how will they measure the outcome and whether the money was well spent. I have always questioned the vast amounts spent on various Public Health campaigns over the years.

Teetime I think measuring outcome is very difficult - are you going to measure 'lives saved' (=deaths postponed), health problems identified, lifestyle changes adopted following advice or what? Or the dreaded 'patient satisfaction'?
And even if you do measure those things, there are so many confounding factors (eg pre-existing conditions like arthritis that might make it difficult to act on advice to take more exercise) that the measurements are probably going to be meaningless.
There are some things which cannot be measured, but it doesn't mean they are not valuable. My results were 'normal' and the effect on me was to make me feel even more determined to take exercise and eat properly, to maintain that normality for as long as I can.
Another benefit might be that it gives someone who perhaps doesn't go to the doctor very often an opportunity to mention something in passing that has been concerning them, but that they didn't want to 'bother the doctor' with, and it might turn out to be significant.

Finally, in a historical context, public health campaigns and measures have been very important. If it weren't for public health, we would still be suffering from cholera and many infectious diseases that have been eradicated through vaccination programmes, venereal disease would go untreated, many more people would still be smoking and people would be unaware of the dangers of too much sun exposure.

Here ended the lesson I hope.

Charming.

'endeth'. Not 'ended'.

You need to go to church more often.

I think the tests are worthwhile. If you are sure you don't need them, don't take it up.

I think the nurse doing the tests would take any 'conditions' on board, and advise accordingly.

This whole thread is a big fuss over nothing. Ever thought that the gov and their advisers might be taking the population as a whole into account? Not just the Gransnetting ones.

Don't you care how your tax is spent in the NHS jingle ?
My neighbour has been smoking for 60 years (!). I'm sure lots of doctors have told him to give up over the years. This week he's been told his lungs have been damaged by smoking - he's been feeling poorly for weeks and had an X-ray. He's announced that he's giving up. Point is that screening appointments and warnings don't seem to work on the people who need them most.

I care. And I think the tests could be valuable for some.

Of course it's important how money is spent, but I can't believe you going in and on about 'cost effectiveness' - do you work for NICE? If just one life us saved through screening then that's worth it in my eyes.

And who are you to judge who 'need them most?' There are many people who heed the warning given, and who adjust their eating, drinking, smoking, exercise regime.

How many here on GN alone, used to smoke and gave up?
How many gave cut down their drinking, had dry months, given up?
How many are following sensible eating habits or stepped their exercise?

I bet quite a few. And as Jane said, those who are on the right path and get a thumbs up, this too is encouragement to carry on.

Excuse typos etc but do get so fed up with this type of post.

Anya Dr Margaret McCarthy has written a whole book in which she critiques screening. Well worth a read. The Patient Paradox. She makes a number of convincing arguments.
But statistics aside
If you have a limited number of doctors it does matter whether they are spending their time effectively. They might spend a whole morning screening healthy people, while not having enough time for other work such as doing house calls on an elderly ill people or giving a bit of time to people with mental health problems.

I was invited to an Over Forty check up when I was 70. It was a useless tick-box exercise. I was told I was inactive because I didn't go to a gym or cycle (despite walking everywhere, gardening and walking my dogs twice daily) Absolutely furious, I asked,"How many 70year olds go to a bloody gym?"
Then she asked if I ever walked uphill. It is impossible to leave any house here without walking up and down hills.
Then she took my blood pressure, which was high, of course, so I had a 24hour monitor. Turned out absolutely normal.
Complete waste of resources because the idiot asking the questions was half- witted.

Not a doctor or even a nurse, someone told me they get the receptionists to do these health checks.

That's the kind of posts I'm talking about!