Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review
Introduction Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of a disease that would never have caused any symptom or problem. It is a harmful side effect of screening and may lead to unnecessary treatment, costs and emotional drawbacks. Doctors and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) have the opportunity to mitig...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-10-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/10/e054267.full |
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| author | Ann Van den Bruel An De Sutter Stefan Heytens Veerle Piessens Ann Van Hecke |
| author_facet | Ann Van den Bruel An De Sutter Stefan Heytens Veerle Piessens Ann Van Hecke |
| author_sort | Ann Van den Bruel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of a disease that would never have caused any symptom or problem. It is a harmful side effect of screening and may lead to unnecessary treatment, costs and emotional drawbacks. Doctors and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) have the opportunity to mitigate these consequences, not only by informing their patients or the public but also by adjusting screening methods or even by refraining from screening. However, it is unclear to what extent HCPs are fully aware of overdiagnosis and whether it affects their screening decisions. With this systematic review, we aim to synthesise all available research about what HCPs know and think about overdiagnosis, how it affects their position on screening policy and whether they think patients and the public should be informed about it.Methods and analysis We will systematically search several databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL and PsycArticles) for studies that directly examine HCPs' knowledge and subjective perceptions of overdiagnosis due to health screening, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We will optimise our search by scanning reference and citation lists, contacting experts in the field and hand searching abstracts from the annual conference on 'Preventing Overdiagnosis'. After selection and quality appraisal, we will analyse qualitative and quantitative findings separately in a segregated design for mixed-method reviews. The data will be examined and presented descriptively. If the retrieved studies allow it, we will review them from a constructivist perspective through a critical interpretive synthesis.Ethics and dissemination For this type of research, no ethical approval is required. Findings from this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at the annual congress of 'Preventing Overdiagnosis'. In addition, the results will serve as guidance for further research on this topic.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021244513. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6b3920f498834cecae13a3b78efc692d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-6b3920f498834cecae13a3b78efc692d2025-02-01T20:20:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-10-01121010.1136/bmjopen-2021-054267Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic reviewAnn Van den Bruel0An De Sutter1Stefan Heytens2Veerle Piessens3Ann Van Hecke4general practitioner and professorDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, BelgiumDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Ghent, Gent, BelgiumDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, BelgiumUniversity Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, BelgiumIntroduction Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of a disease that would never have caused any symptom or problem. It is a harmful side effect of screening and may lead to unnecessary treatment, costs and emotional drawbacks. Doctors and other healthcare professionals (HCPs) have the opportunity to mitigate these consequences, not only by informing their patients or the public but also by adjusting screening methods or even by refraining from screening. However, it is unclear to what extent HCPs are fully aware of overdiagnosis and whether it affects their screening decisions. With this systematic review, we aim to synthesise all available research about what HCPs know and think about overdiagnosis, how it affects their position on screening policy and whether they think patients and the public should be informed about it.Methods and analysis We will systematically search several databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL and PsycArticles) for studies that directly examine HCPs' knowledge and subjective perceptions of overdiagnosis due to health screening, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We will optimise our search by scanning reference and citation lists, contacting experts in the field and hand searching abstracts from the annual conference on 'Preventing Overdiagnosis'. After selection and quality appraisal, we will analyse qualitative and quantitative findings separately in a segregated design for mixed-method reviews. The data will be examined and presented descriptively. If the retrieved studies allow it, we will review them from a constructivist perspective through a critical interpretive synthesis.Ethics and dissemination For this type of research, no ethical approval is required. Findings from this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at the annual congress of 'Preventing Overdiagnosis'. In addition, the results will serve as guidance for further research on this topic.PROSPERO registration number CRD42021244513.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/10/e054267.full |
| spellingShingle | Ann Van den Bruel An De Sutter Stefan Heytens Veerle Piessens Ann Van Hecke Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review BMJ Open |
| title | Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| title_full | Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| title_fullStr | Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| title_short | Do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it? A protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| title_sort | do doctors and other healthcare professionals know overdiagnosis in screening and how are they dealing with it a protocol for a mixed methods systematic review |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/10/e054267.full |
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