What is the relevance of sensitivity and specificity in the development of diagnostic and screening tests?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is Having accurate tests to identify conditions is an important part of identifying and treating individuals for conditions. Sensitivity is the likelihood that a person with the condition will be correctly identified as having the condition, and specificity is the likelihood that a person without the condition will be identified as not having the condition. This means that people will not be tested as falsely positive or falsely negative. It is important in the development of screening tests to have good specificity and sensitivity so that people who need treatment will get treatment and those who don't need treatment will not receive treatment. If the sensitivity and specificity are not adequate, then false positives and false negatives occur, leading to mistrust of the process/testing. It would also lead to increased morbidity and mortality in cases where the test did not detect the condition. In those it falsely identified as having the condition, these individuals would unnecessarily receive treatment, which could itself be damaging to the person's health.

What Is the Relevance of Sensitivity and Specificity in the Development