A SHIFT TOWARDS DISEASE PREVENTION
- Traditionally, healthcare and medical interventions have focused on the treatment or mitigation of disease. However, more recently there has been a shift towards disease prevention
- Non-communicable diseases account for approximately 70% of deaths globally. As the global burden of non-communicable diseases, also known as chronic diseases, continues to rise, there is a greater need to focus on disease prevention rather than treatment because most of the burden of non-communicable diseases is preventable
THE RIVER STORY
A warm sunny afternoon turns into a rescue mission as you help several people who fall into a river, struggling to stay afloat. After repeatedly saving individuals, you realize the situation is unsustainable. You walk upstream and discover a large hole in a bridge is causing people to fall into the river. To address the issue, you warn others, spread awareness, and offer swimming lessons. Eventually, you work with the community to repair the bridge, significantly reducing the number of people who need to be rescued.
DISEASE PREVENTION
Disease prevention aims to minimize the incidence or effects of disease. Preventative measures can be applied at any stage along the course of a disease, with the goal of preventing further progression.
4 stages of disease prevention
Stage 1: Primordial Prevention
Aims to prevent the development of risk factors of diseases by targeting the underlying environmental and social conditions that might promote them
Stage 2: Primary Prevention
Identification and modification of risk factors (risk reduction) to prevent onset of disease.
Stage 3: Secondary Prevention
Early detection and treatment of disease before symptoms appear.
Stage 4: Tertiary Prevention
Treatment of disease to stop its progression and control its negative consequences.
Primordial Prevention
Primordial prevention targets the underlying health determinants by modifying social policies to improve the health of a population, for example, promoting a healthy lifestyle by establishing safe sidewalks and public outdoor spaces/walking trails. Other examples include economic reforms, improving childhood health through prenatal nutrition programs, and outlawing alcohol in certain countries.
Primary Prevention
Primary prevention targets susceptible individuals and attempts to prevent disease development. It targets exposures and risk factors for specific diseases as well as ways to increase immunity. For example, getting vaccinated.
Secondary Prevention
Secondary prevention involves early detection and treatment of disease. For example, regular mammograms to detect and treat breast cancer, and regular Papanicolaou tests to detect and treat cervical cancer.
Tertiary Prevention
When a disease has developed and is in its clinical phase, tertiary prevention strategies help to reduce the impact of the disease on the patient’s function, survival, and quality of life. For example, patients that have had a myocardial infarction having cardiac rehabilitation, and regular check-ups afterwards.
Papanicolaou test
Also known as a “pap smear”, a Papanicolaou test is a method of cervical screening used to detect precancerous and cancerous growths in the cervix
Myocardial infarction
Another name for a heart attack
QUESTION 1 OF 2: DIABETES PREVENTION
QUESTION 2 OF 2: THE RIVER STORY
Dr. Carpenter’s Feedback
Recall, primordial strategies prevent the risk factors from developing, primary strategies involve risk reduction, secondary strategies involve early detection and treatment, and tertiary strategies involve treatment and control of negative consequences
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