## Wilson and Jungner Screening Criteria **Key Point:** The Wilson and Jungner criteria, established by the World Health Organization in 1968, are the foundational principles for evaluating whether a disease and its screening test are suitable for population-based screening programs. ### The 10 Criteria 1. The disease should be an important health problem 2. There should be an accepted treatment for patients with recognized disease 3. Facilities for diagnosis and treatment should be available 4. There should be a recognizable latent or early symptomatic stage 5. There should be a suitable test or examination 6. The test should be acceptable to the population 7. The natural history of the disease should be adequately understood 8. There should be an agreed policy on whom to treat as patients 9. The cost of case-finding should be economically balanced in relation to overall expenditure on medical care 10. Case-finding should be a continuous process, not a one-time event **High-Yield:** These criteria are universally applied to justify screening programs for conditions like cervical cancer (Pap smear), breast cancer (mammography), and colorectal cancer (FOBT/colonoscopy). **Clinical Pearl:** The absence of even one criterion may make a screening program unjustifiable. For example, screening for a rare disease with no effective treatment violates criteria 1 and 2. ### Application in India India's National Health Mission uses these principles to guide screening programs for: - Cervical cancer (HPV/Pap smear) - Breast cancer (clinical examination, mammography) - Oral cancer (visual inspection) - Hypertension and diabetes (opportunistic screening) **Mnemonic:** **IMPORTANT FACTS** — (I)mportant disease, (M)anagement available, (P)ractical facilities, (O)early/latent stage, (R)ecognizable test, (T)est acceptable, (A)natural history known, (N)ational policy, (T)cost-effective, (S)continuous process.
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