Introduction
Underlying, susceptible, subclinical, clinical, and recovery/disability/death are the five stages of the natural history of the disease. To focus on preventing various stages of a disease, corresponding preventive health practices have been categorized into analogous stages. The four levels of prevention are primordial prevention, primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. When combined, these approaches seek to avoid both the upstream consequences of a manifested disease and the start of disease through risk reduction. Preventive strategies such as health promotion and education can save a lot of healthy time and quality of life.
The activities that promote health and prevent health issues include eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise, for example, health promotion activities.
Health risk behaviors, as opposed to habits that promote good health, include the hazardous use of alcohol and cigarettes, which enhance one's vulnerability to certain diseases or poor health. As a result, while health promotion aims to empower people to make educated behavioral adjustments to promote, protect, and preserve health, health education only strives to facilitate decision-making linked to health. Of course, changing behavior is more complex than recommending drugs or giving out prostheses. Additionally, it takes more time than other forms of intervention. This explains why health promotion initiatives are somewhat underrepresented compared to other health interventions.
What Are the Levels of Prevention?
Recently, there has been a lot of hostility to the idea of preventive medicine, which originated as a health movement and then became a policy. Despite the fact that the majority of regular people would support prevention as a helpful technique, there are some arguments for and against it in the discussions that have begun concerning this problem. The area of medicine known as preventive medicine is dedicated to the process of halting the progression of diseases. This identification involves a number of procedures, starting with the widespread vaccination of the populace against various infectious diseases (such as diphtheria or whooping cough), as well as the development of strategies for eliminating the diseases' vectors (such as mosquitoes that spread malarial parasites) and the early detection of heart conditions. According to the natural history of the disease, there are different levels of prevention and modes of intervention, respectively.
The levels of prevention are as follows:
Primordial Prevention:
Primordial prevention, the newly added preventative measure, was reported in 1978. Focusing on social and environmental factors entails risk factor reduction aimed at the entire population. Usually, legislation and national policy are used to encourage such actions. Primordial prevention is the earliest form of prevention; hence it is frequently targeted at youngsters to reduce risk exposure as much as possible. Primordial prevention focuses on the underlying socioeconomic factors that contribute to the beginning of the disease to address the early stages of natural disease. One example can be enhancing accessibility to secure walkways in urban neighborhoods to encourage physical exercise, which reduces risk factors for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.
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Primary Prevention:
A vulnerable population or person is the target of primary preventative strategies. Primary prevention aims to stop a disease before it ever starts. Thus, its intended population consists of healthy people. To stop a disease from advancing to subclinical disease in a vulnerable individual, it is advisable to implement actions that restrict risk exposure or boost the immunity of those at risk. As an illustration, vaccinations are an example of primary prevention.
Secondary Prevention:
Secondary prevention targets healthy-appearing people with subclinical disease states and stress early illness identification. Pathologic alterations make up the subclinical disease, although there are no overt symptoms that may be identified during a doctor visit. Screenings are a common technique of secondary prevention. An example of secondary prevention is the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, used to detect cervical cancer in its subclinical stage before it progresses, and dental screening visits to detect tooth caries and advise treatment procedures.
Tertiary Prevention:
The clinical and outcome stages of the disease are the focus of tertiary prevention. It is used in symptomatic people to reduce the severity of the sickness and any potential side effects. Tertiary prevention strives to lessen the impact of the disease once it has been established in a person, whereas secondary prevention aims to prevent the beginning of the illness. Rehabilitation initiatives such as physical exercise, speech, and language training are frequently used as tertiary preventative strategies.
Quaternary Prevention:
Quaternary prevention is described as identifying patients at risk for overmedication, safeguarding them from additional medical intrusion, and recommending actions that are morally acceptable to them. Marc Jamoulle first introduced this idea. The primary objectives were individuals who were unwell but had no condition. "Action taken to protect individuals (persons/patients) from medical interventions that are likely to cause more harm than good" is the definition that has recently been modified.
What Are the Modes of Intervention?
An effort to interfere with or obstruct the typical progression of disease in humans. This might be done by offering assistance, support, education, or social services. The precise actions or strategies used to avert an illness or disease are called modes of intervention. Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention each have different ways of intervention.
The five modes of intervention are:
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Health Promotion.
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Specific protection.
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Early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
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Disability Limitation and Rehabilitation.
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Health Promotion
One of the two intervention strategies included under primary prevention is health promotion, with the other being special protection. A commitment to addressing the issues of reducing inequities, broadening the scope of prevention, and assisting people in coping with their circumstances to create environments conducive to health and improve people's ability to take care of themselves is what is meant by health promotion.
Examples include government initiatives to raise cigarette costs, reduce tobacco advertising, provide access to safe walking routes, and open up establishments that sell nutritious food.
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Specific Protection
For example, chemoprophylaxis, vaccinations, tobacco cessation programs, needle exchange programs, micronutrient supplementation programs, and tobacco cessation programs are all examples of specific protection.
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Early Diagnosis and Prompt Treatment
Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, including dental screenings, Pap tests for cervical and breast cancer, mammograms for breast cancer, colonoscopies for colon cancer, and blood pressure screenings, are the modes of intervention under secondary prevention.
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Disability Limitation and Rehabilitation
Disability limitation and rehabilitation are the intervention modalities for persons receiving tertiary preventative care. Examples of these therapies include occupational and physical therapy for burn patients, cardiac rehab for those who have just experienced a myocardial infarction, diabetic foot care, and physiotherapy for paralyzed people.
Conclusion
Despite being a crucial component of healthcare, preventive services should be more utilized worldwide. There are several preventative services that people need to be aware of because of the financial, time, and resource limits on physicians. Doctors must stay current on preventive recommendations and ensure that all patients are given the proper care and a clear explanation of risks and benefits.
