Level of Prevention

Level of prevention
Prevention:
• Prevention is the action aimed at eradicating,
eliminating or minimizing the impact of
disease and disability, or if none of these are
feasible, retarding the progress of the disease
and disability.
Primordial prevention:
• Primordial prevention is defined as prevention of risk factors
themselves, beginning with change in social and
environmental conditions in which these factors are observed
to develop, and continuing for high risk children, adolescents
and young adults.
• It is the prevention of the emergence or development of risk
factors in countries or population groups in which they have
not yet appeared.
• The main intervention in primordial prevention is through
individual and mass education.
Cont
• Primordial prevention, a relatively new concept, is receiving
… special attention in the prevention of chronic diseases. For
example, many adult health problems (e.g. obesity,
hypertension) have their early origins in childhood, because
this is the time when lifestyles are formed(for example,
smoking, eating patterns, physical exercise).
• Primordial prevention begins in childhood when health risk

behaviour begins. Parents, teachers and peer groups are
important in imparting health education to children.
Examples:
• National policies and programes on nutrition involving the
agricultural sector, the food industry, and the food import-
export sector
• Comprehensive policies to discourage smoking
• Programes to promote regular physical activity
• Making major changes in lifestyle
Primary prevention:
• Primary prevention can be defined as the action
taken prior to the onset of disease, which removes
the possibility that the disease will ever occur.
• It signifies intervention in the pre-pathogenesis
phase of a disease or health problem.
• Primary prevention may be accomplished by
measures of “Health promotion” and “specific
protection”
Primary prevention (cont.)
• It includes the concept of "positive health", a
concept that encourages achievement and
maintenance of "an acceptable level of health that
will enable every individual to lead a socially and
economically productive life".
• Primary prevention may be accomplished by
measures designed to promote general health and
well-being, and quality of life of people or by specific
protective measures.
Primary prevention
Achieved by Achieved by
Health promotion Specific protection
Immunization and seroprophylaxis

Health education
chemoprophylaxis
Environmental modifications Use of specific nutrients or supplementations
Protection against occupational hazards
Nutritional interventions Safety of drugs and foods
Life style and behavioral changes Control of environmental hazards,
e.g. air pollution
Secondary prevention:
• It is defined as “ action which halts the progress of a
disease at its incipient stage and prevents
complications.”
• The specific interventions are: early diagnosis (e.g.

screening tests, breast self examination, pap smear
test, radiographic examinations, case finding
programme, etc) and adequate treatment.
Cont.
.• Secondary prevention attempts to arrest the disease
process, restore health by seeking out unrecognized
disease and treating it before irreversible
pathological changes take place, and reverse
communicability of infectious diseases.
• It thus protects others from in the community from

acquiring the infection and thus provide at once
secondary prevention for the infected ones and
primary prevention for their potential contacts.
Early diagnosis and treatment
• WHO Expert Committee in 1973 defined early
detection of health disorders as “ the detection of
disturbances of homoeostatic and compensatory
mechanism while biochemical, morphological and
functional changes are still reversible.”
• The earlier the disease is diagnosed, and treated the

better it is for prognosis of the case and in the
prevention of the occurrence of other secondary
cases.
Tertiary prevention:
• It is used when the disease process has advanced
beyond its early stages.
• It is defined as “all the measures available to reduce
or limit impairments and disabilities, and to promote
the patients’ adjustment to irremediable conditions.”
• Intervention that should be accomplished in the
stage of tertiary prevention are disability limitation,
and rehabilitation.
Disability limitation:
Disease
Impairment
Disability
Handicap
Impairment:
• Impairment is “any loss or abnormality of
psychological, physiological or anatomical
structure or function.”
Disability:
• Disability is “any restriction or lack of ability to
perform an activity in the manner or within
the range considered normal for the human
being.”
Handicap:
• Handicap is termed as “a disadvantage for a given individual,
resulting from an impairment or disability, that limits or
prevents the fulfillment of a role in the community that is
normal (depending on age, sex, and social and cultural
factors) for that individual.”
Rehabilitation:
• Rehabilitation is “ the combined and coordinated use of
medical, social, educational, and vocational measures for
training and retraining the individual to the highest possible
level of functional ability.”
Rehabilitation
Medical Vocational Social Psychological

rehabilitation rehabilitation rehabilitation rehabilitation
Strategy for Prevention
Identify
Populations
Modify Existing at High
Disease Risk
Intervention (based on demography /
family history,
Programs host factors..)
Assess
Evaluate Exposure
Intervention
Programs
Conduct
Research on
Apply
Population-Based Mechanisms
(including the
Intervention study of
Programs genetic
susceptibility)
ROLE OF NURSE IN
 She makes use of nursing process which is
comparable to epidemiological process in
solving the problem.
 She identifies & investigating the problem,
formulates interventions & implements to
prevent & control the problem & evaluate the
effectiveness of intervention.
 She deals with the problem independently
especially when these are nursing problem,
minor ailments.
 She may participate as one of the team
members.
 She participates in data collection, data
analysis, planning, implementation & evaluation.
 Sheplay active role in prevention & control of

communicable diseases.
 Community health nurse can also teach &

supervise other workers in surveillance
activities.
 She also participates in National

programs.

Level of Prevention

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Level of Prevention

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Level of Prevention

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Level of prevention

• Primordial prevention begins in childhood when health risk

Health promotion Specific protection

Immunization and seroprophylaxis

• The specific interventions are: early diagnosis (e.g.

• It thus protects others from in the community from

• The earlier the disease is diagnosed, and treated the

Medical Vocational Social Psychological

 Sheplay active role in prevention & control of

 Community health nurse can also teach &

 She also participates in National

You might also like