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The European Journal of Public Health 2001 11(2):231-233; doi:10.1093/eurpub/11.2.231
© 2001 by European Journal of Public Health
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Perental screeining and genetics

PRISCILLA ALDERSON1, ARJA R. ARO2, THALIA DRAGONAS3, ELIZABETH ETTORRE4, ELINA HEMMINKI5, PIIA JALINOJA6, PAIVI SANTALAHTI7 and TJEERD TYMSTRA8

1Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London UK.
2Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute Heisinki, finland.
3Department of Earty Childhood Education, University of Athens Athens, Greece.
4Department of Sociology, University of Piymouth UK.
5Health Service Research Unit, STAKES Helsinki, Finland.
6Department of Sociology, University of Helsinki Finland.
7Department of Public Health, University of Turku Finland.
8Department of Public Health Scinence, University of Groningen The Netherlands.

Correspondence: Priscilla Alderson, PhD, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London, WC1H ONS, UK, tel +44 207 612 6396, fax +44 207 612 6400, p.alderson{at}ioe.ac.uk

Although the term ‘genetic screening’ has been used for decades, this paper discusses how, in its most precise meaning, genetic screening has not yet been widely introduced. 'Prenatal screening’ is often confused with ‘genetic screening’. As we show, these terms have different meanings, and we examine definitions of the relevant concepts in order to illustrate this point. The concepts are i) prenatal, ii) genetic screening, iii) screening, scanning and testing, iv) maternal and foetal tests, v) test techniques and vi) genetic conditions. So far, prenatal screening has little connection with precisely defined genetics. There are benefits but also disadvantages in overstating current links between them in the term genetic screening. Policy making and professional and public understandings about screening could be clarified if the distinct meanings of prenatal screening and genetic screening were more precisely observed.

Keywords: genetic screening, maternal and foetal tests, prenatal screening, scanning


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