ArticleBMJ open2016
Survey of public definitions of the term 'overdiagnosis' in the UK.
Article in BMJ open, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient preferences for breast cancer screening: a systematic review update to inform recommendations by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Systematic review on women's values and preferences concerning breast cancer screening and diagnostic services.Psycho-oncology · 2019Pooled it
- The effect of information on prostate cancer screening decision process: a discrete choice experiment.BMC health services research · 2020Trial
- Why Most Australians Consider It Valuable to Find Harmless Abnormalities with Diagnostic Tests: A Mixed-Methods Study.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2026Article
- Understanding the Preferences and Considerations of the Public Towards Risk-Stratified Screening for Colorectal Cancer: Insights From Think-Aloud Interviews Based on a Discrete Choice Experiment.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- 'The health care system is more like a business'-medical overuse from the patients' perspective in Germany: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Enablers and barriers to a quaternary prevention approach: a qualitative study of field experts.BMJ open · 2024Article
- What do people know and think about medical overuse? an online questionnaire study in Germany.PloS one · 2024Article
- Conditions for gatekeeping when GPs consider patient requests unreasonable: a focus group study.Family practice · 2022Article
- Article
- Journalists' views on media coverage of medical tests and overdiagnosis: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Article
- Women's Acceptance of Overdetection in Breast Cancer Screening: Can We Assess Harm-Benefit Tradeoffs?Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2020Article
- Media Coverage of the Benefits and Harms of Testing the Healthy: a protocol for a descriptive study.BMJ open · 2019Article
- Defining the information needs of lung cancer screening participants: a qualitative study.BMJ open respiratory research · 2019Article
- How Do Women View Risk-Based Mammography Screening? A Qualitative Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2018Article
- Overdiagnosis: causes and consequences in primary health care.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2018Article
- Article
- Article
- Perceptions of overdetection of breast cancer among women 70 years of age and older in the USA: a mixed-methods analysis.BMJ open · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo determine how 'overdiagnosis' is currently conceptualised among adults in the UK in light of previous research, which has found that the term is difficult for the public to understand and awareness is low. This study aimed to add to current debates on healthcare in which overdiagnosis is a prominent issue.
designAn observational, web-based survey was administered by a survey company.
settingParticipants completed the survey at a time and location of their choosing.
participants390 consenting UK adults aged 50-70 years. Quota sampling was used to achieve approximately equal numbers in three categories of education and equal numbers of men and women. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked whether they had seen or heard the term 'overdiagnosis'. If they had, they were then invited to explain in a free-text field what they understood it to mean. If they had not previously encountered it, they were invited to say what they thought it meant. Responses were coded and interpreted using content analysis and descriptive statistics.
resultsData from 390 participants were analysed. Almost a third (30.0%) of participants reported having previously encountered the term. However, their responses often indicated that they had no knowledge of its meaning. The most prevalent theme consisted of responses related to the diagnosis itself. Subthemes indicated common misconceptions, including an 'overly negative or complicated diagnosis', 'false-positive diagnosis' or 'misdiagnosis'. Other recurring themes consisted of responses related to testing (ie, 'too many tests'), treatment (eg, 'overtreatment') and patient psychology (eg, 'overthinking'). Responses categorised as consistent with 'overdiagnosis' (defined as detection of a disease that would not cause symptoms or death) were notably rare (n=10; 2.6%).
conclusionsConsistent with previous research, public awareness of 'overdiagnosis' in the UK is low and its meaning is often misunderstood or misinterpreted.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.