What a coincidence, I have to share this. I had a test scheduled today in Measurement on Utility, making decisions about test use after cost/benefit analysis. On CNN this morning was the news that US Preventive Services Task Force is NOT recommending routine mammogram testing for women under 50 (unless otherwise high risk). This is based on new data and a cost/benefit analysis. There are benefits to under 50 testing(prevent 1 cancer death for every 1904 women tested), but also costs in terms of extra testing, psychological stress, biopsies, and the false positive rate. So I HAD to get it on the exam. I photocopied 3 articles on the recommendations (two from NYTimes, one from Washington Post) and tacked on a bonus question at the end - asking them to read the articles and see if the decision to reduce testing was made in a manner described in the test.
-------------------------- John W. Kulig Professor of Psychology Plymouth State University Plymouth NH 03264 -------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
