Promoting health and preventing illness Flashcards
Define disease prevention.
Actions aimed at eradicating, eliminating, or minimising the impact of disease and disability, or if none of these is feasible, disrupting the progress of disease and disability
Define health promotion.
The process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health
Define primary prevention in the context of disease prevention.
Prevent disease before it occurs by addressing risk factors
Define secondary prevention in the context of disease prevention.
Early detection of pre-clinical disease to prevent progression to clinical disease
Define tertiary prevention in the context of disease prevention.
Treat established disease to prevent complications or minimise symptoms
Define primordial prevention in the context of disease prevention.
Prevent risk factors from occurring
Give an example of primordial prevention.
Addressing socioeconomic deprivation
Give an example of primary prevention.
Identify and manage risk factors
Give two pros of high-risk strategies in disease prevention.
Relatively cheap
Reduces prevalence
Give two cons of high-risk strategies in disease prevention.
Requires effective screening
No effect on underlying causes (i.e. no change in incidence)
Give two pros of population strategies in disease prevention.
Reduces incidence and prevalence
Large potential difference for a population
Give two pros of population strategies in disease prevention.
Poor subject / doctor motivation
Small / no benefit to individuals
Describe what is meant by the prevention paradox.
The seemingly contradictory situation where the majority of cases of a disease come from a population at low or moderate risk of that disease, and only a minority of cases come from the high risk population
This is because the number of people at high risk is small
Describe what is meant by upstream approaches to disease prevention and give an example.
Aim to prevent the root causes that have broad health consequences – e.g. reduce poverty and unemployment
Describe what is meant by downstream approaches to disease prevention and give an example.
Prevention through dealing with lifestyles and adverse health behaviours, and the consequences of poor health – e.g. indoor smoking ban, weight management
