ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

 

Background

 

Population screening is an important contributor to advancing health outcomes through the early detection of and successful intervention for chronic disease. The evolution of science, technology and evidence relating to diseases which are or may be amenable to a population screening approach deserve broad discussion and the sharing of expertise and evidence. They also warrant close scrutiny in context of health policy and health resource allocation considerations.

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The PHAA ran a one-day symposium on cancer screening in August 2023 in Melbourne to which over 200 people registered. The success of the event led to a commitment to plan and deliver a two-day conference to consider evidence and developments relating to adult chronic disease screening more broadly.

 

Conference Theme

 

The meeting will focus on developments relevant to screening of existing and proposed adult chronic diseases and will feature expert international and national speakers.

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The 2025 theme is: 'Population Screening for Chronic Disease – Maximising Benefits, Minimising Harms’.

 

Broad approach

 

There are established (and proposed) screening programs relevant to a range of diseases, notably breast, cervix, bowel cancer, and more recently for skin and lung cancer screening. There are a number of other chronic diseases where as new technologies are emerging and evidence is being gathered to support organised screening, (including but not limited to diabetes, CKD, MAFLD as well as cardiovascular and other risk assessment for primary prevention in general practice. Population-based criteria for screening, based on WHO criteria and the Australian Population Based Screening Framework, aim to ensure that the benefits of screening outweigh and minimise any potential harms. These criteria are well understood by those involved in established screening programs and advocates for emerging screening programs are keen to learn from past experience how to compile evidence, design, implement and monitor programs, as well as ensure equitable participation.  Similarly, there is much to learn from emerging programs and new technologies for those involved in established programs where adopting advances in evidence and technology can be challenging and perceived as slower.

 

The plenary sessions will focus on cross-cutting themes relevant to population-based and targeted adult chronic-disease screening programs and concurrent sessions will enable a deeper-dive into specific programs and areas of focus.  This will allow for updates on developments and progress in specific population and targeted screening programs, a focus on priority populations, or emerging evidence on the benefits and risks of new screening initiatives.

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The conference will provide opportunities for attendees to exchange information and learn from each other’s experience, across a range of disciplines. 

 

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

 

The objectives of the conference are to:

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• Learn from community-led projects to improve equity of access and culturally safe screening practices across screening programs.

• Highlight key current and future advances in population screening and identify how evidence might be gathered to support implementation so as to improve outcomes.

• Explore mechanisms to better assess emerging evidence allowing a policy response that achieves best possible health outcomes within resource constraints.

 

TARGET AUDIENCE

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​​The target audience are current and future leaders in population screening coming from a range of sectors including:

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• Research

• Civil society

• Government

• Program delivery

• Policy

• Consumers

• Clinicians

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