Jump to content
- Prevention can occur on an individual or on a population level
- Individual level prevention: Counselling, screening, etc.
- Population level prevention: Public health campaigns, programmes, etc.
- Primordial prevention
- (Actually a type of primary prevention)
- Involves establishing conditions which minimize health hazards
- Involves the whole population
- Established through public health policies on a national level
- Examples
- Laws against smoking
- Increasing taxes on unhealthy goods (sugar, alcohol)
- Improve city infrastructure
- Reduce pollution
- Make vaccination programmes
- Improving the socioeconomic status of the population
- Primary prevention
- Reducing risk of disease by altering behaviours or exposures which are risk factors for disease
- Involves the whole population
- Examples
- Immunization (vaccination)
- Lifestyle modification
- Food fortification
- Routine family doctor consultation
- Encourage smoking cessation
- Secondary prevention
- Detecting diseases which are as of yet asymptomatic, before they progress or cause complications or complications
- Treating diseases in these stages is easier and more effective than later stages
- Reduces the impact of a disease or injury which has already occurred
- Involves individuals who are at high risk for the disease
- Secondary prevention does not intend to diagnose diseases, but only to pick up those who may need further testing
- Examples
- Screening for breast cancer, CRC
- Regular blood pressure testing
- Tertiary prevention
- Managing symptomatic diseases after diagnosis to slow or stop disease progression
- Involves individuals diagnosed with disease
- Examples
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Monitoring for disease complication
