Preventive healthcare is the prevention of illness to decrease the possibility of contracting a disease and the risk factors. Preventive health also called preventive medicine or prophylaxis is applicable at all life stages and a range of conditions to prevent further decline with time.
Preventive health uses recognized proactive health screenings, maintenance to prevent illness in future, treatment, and counseling. Preventive health is vital in reducing the risk of contracting chronic diseases that are a leading cause of nursing essay topics disability and death worldwide. Chronic illnesses are a reason for increasing health costs. Healthcare professionals advocate preventive care as part of health approach. It includes screening tests and clinical preventive services. One strategy is to identify and prevent potential problems in future to control utilization as well as improve health outcomes.
The scope of preventive healthcare
The focus of preventive health measures is on the preventable diseases, patient illness, and injury that healthcare professionals can prevent early to save the patient from suffering that the virus can cause. In addition to the regular advice of taking a healthy diet and exercising, physicians practicing preventive medicine take nursing assignment examples other measures to prevent disease. Detection of early health conditions by screenings and warning signs for most health conditions helps in reducing their impact. Screenings also aid in the prevention of opportunistic illnesses that occur due to the existence of other medical conditions.
Nurses and doctors should encourage their patients to arrange for regular checkups, proactive screening, and appropriate immunizations. Routine screening and checkup help in the discovery of many conditions in early stages. Cancer, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections and depression are some of the diseases that early screenings help to detect to allow timely treatment.
Levels of preventive health
- Primordial level of prevention
A population health approach involves taking actions to prevent future health hazards and decrease the factors that increase the risk of disease. Primordial level addresses the broad determinants of health rather than exposure by individuals to the risk factors. Improving sanitation, developing a green energy approach and promoting a healthy lifestyle are some of the examples of primordial preventive initiatives.
- Primary prevention
The scope of primary prevention is to prevent an onset of chronic diseases by reducing the risk factors for development. Lowering risks by changing exposure or behavior is one type of primary prevention. Primary prevention focuses on specific risk factors that lead to certain diseases. Some of the prevention techniques are active by involving the participation of an individual while others are passive without affecting active activity for individuals.
Lifestyle changes like eating healthy foods or avoiding smoking to reduce risk of heart diseases is an example of active primary prevention while enhancing resistance to diseases by vaccination is one of the passive prevention methods.
- Secondary prevention
Secondary prevention involves detecting and treating pre-clinical stages. Screening procedures are the first step to allow early detection and cost-effective interventions. Screening processes combine the responsibility of a person and the healthcare provider but with more emphasis more on patient engagement.
- Tertiary prevention
The focus of tertiary prevention is in these three areas reaction against disease:
- Reversing
- Arresting
- Delaying
The practice of tertiary prevention is a clinical area that helps to lessen the way disease impacts on the life of a patient. A patient will have more contact with healthcare providers and system in many settings and roles.
Preventive medicine is essential in saving the cost of healthcare and patient suffering by preventing diseases or preventing further progress after early detection.
