Welcome to the Bristol Evidence Synthesis for Screening (BESS) Group
The Bristol Evidence Synthesis for Screening (BESS) Group is one of three specialist Evidence Synthesis Groups (ESGs) funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to support the work of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC advises the government and NHS on use of screening programs across the four nations of the UK.
The BESS Group is part of the Bristol Evidence synthesis, Appraisal and Modelling (BEAM) Centre, at the University of Bristol. BEAM is an internationally renowned centre of excellence in evidence synthesis, having been at the forefront of methodological advances in this area for over 20 years.
What we do
The BESS Group conducts high-quality evidence syntheses of existing research commissioned by the UK NSC, to inform decisions about national screening programmes.
Evidence synthesis brings together information from multiple research studies to provide clear, reliable understanding of a topic. It aims to summarise all relevant evidence as objectively as possible, supporting better decision-making and highlighting gaps in the evidence.
The UK NSC uses our evidence syntheses to inform its recommendations about screening to the government and NHS, helping ensure these are grounded in the best available evidence
Why do we need to evaluate screening programmes?
All screening can cause harm as well as benefit. It can find things that would never have caused problems, leading to unnecessary worry and treatment. It can also give false alarms – where a test suggests something is wrong, but further tests show there’s no problem, which can be stressful. Some real cases will also typically be missed, which can give false reassurance. Before starting or changing any screening programme, we need to understand whether the proposed programme leads to better outcomes compared with not screening, or compared with the current approach.
Explore our work
Visit our Research Projects page to learn more about our current projects and how we’re contributing to public health.