Study designs of evaluations included in the review
No restrictions were placed on the study designs to be included in the review. Although the search was aimed primarily at identifying meta-analyses and RCTs.
Specific interventions included in the review
Routine SEM (the school doctor sees all children) versus selective SEM (the school doctor only sees a child if there is concern about their health). Only the doctor's contribution to the routine SEM or selective SEM examination was assessed: data concerning the school nurses' contribution was excluded.
Reference standard test against which the new test was compared
The review did not include any diagnostic accuracy studies that compared the performance of the index test with a reference standard of diagnosis.
Participants included in the review
Children entering United Kingdom primary schools.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Primary outcome measures included: uptake rates, referral rates, yield of target conditions, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, specificity, costs, outcome of treatment and patient satisfaction.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
One reviewer selected studies for inclusion.