Levels of Illness Prevention.pptx

four levels of preventive health care

1. Levels of Illness Prevention

2. “ Prevention is better than cure” -Desiderius Erasmus

3. What is prevention ? Prevention is group of activities designed to protect the individual and members of community from illness and its harmful effects.

4. LEVELS OF ILLNESS PREVENTION Health promotion and illness prevention activities are traditionally described as: Primordial prevention Primary prevention Secondary prevention Tertiary prevention

5. Primordial prevention Primordial prevention is a new concept. It aims to reduce the   development of risk factors   before their appearance and t hus preventing chronic diseases. The main action in primordial prevention is providing health education and awareness to people on how to live a healthy lifestyle, so as to prevent them from adopting unhealthy lifestyle. A child can be made habitual to a healthy lifestyle from the beginning. Parent, teacher, peer group and society play a major role in changing the lifestyle of a child. For example, primordial prevention educates on taking nutritious food, avoiding smoking and alcohol, exercising regularly etc.

6. Primary Prevention Primary prevention is directed toward promoting health and preventing the development of disease processes or injury. Here action is taken before the onset of disease to remove the possibility of the occurrence of disease. Primary prevention based on the “positive health” concept, It encourages achievement and maintenance of the health of every individual and enables him to lead a socially and economically productive life. Nursing activities at the primary level may focus on people or groups. Examples of primary level activities are immunization, family planning services, providing poison control information, and accident prevention education. Other interventions include teaching about healthy diet, use of seat belts and other safety devices, safe sex practices etc

7. Contd … Primary prevention is executed through two ways i.e.  health promotion  and  specific protection . Health  promotion is the process of adoption of healthy behaviour and a positive attitude for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Health promotional activities are environmental modification, health education, nutritional intervention, lifestyle and behavioural changes. Health promotion does not provide full protection to health. So targeting specific group and specific diseases also important in prevention measures. Specific protection provides protection against specific disease and group. Specific protection achieved by immunisation , chemoprophylaxis, environmental modification, use of specific nutrition and supplements, the safety of food, drugs and control of environmental hazards. Difference between primordial prevention and primary prevention: Primordial prevention prevents the development of risk factors and Primary prevention modifies existing risk factors and prevents them to become a disease.

8. Secondary Prevention Secondary prevention focuses on screening for early detection of disease with prompt diagnosis and treatment of any found. The goals of secondary preventive care are to identify an illness and reverse or reduce its severity or provide a cure, and thereby return the person to maximum health as quickly as possible. Examples of nursing activities at the secondary level are assessing children for normal growth and development and encouraging regular medical, dental, and vision examinations. Other activities include screenings (e.g.. blood pressure, cholesterol, skin cancer), recommending gynecologic examinations and mammograms for women at appropriate ages etc. Direct nursing care interventions at the secondary level include administering medications and caring for sick.

9. Tertiary prevention Tertiary prevention is defined as “all the measures taken to reduce and limit impairment, disability and to promote patient’s adjustment to the current situation.” Care at this level helps patients achieve a high level of functioning as much as possible, despite the limitations caused by illness or impairment. Nurses play an important role in monitoring the responses of the patient to therapy and in providing services to facilitate the patient's recovery or improve quality of life while living with the effects of an illness or injury. Activities are directed at rehabilitation rather than diagnosis and treatment. For example, a patient with a spinal cord injury undergoes rehabilitation to learn how to use a wheelchair and perform activities of daily living (ADLs) independently. It begins after an illness is diagnosed and treated, with the goal of reducing disability and helping rehabilitate patients to a maximum level of functioning. Eg:Nursing activities on a tertiary level include teaching a patient with diabetes how to recognize and prevent complications, referring a woman to a support group after removal of a breast for treatment of cancer.