Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases,[1] (or injuries) rather than curing Curative care or curative medicine is the kind of health care traditionally oriented towards seeking a cure for an existent disease or medical condition. Curative care differs from preventive care and from palliative care (which concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms) them or treating Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. Non- their symptoms. The term contrasts in method with curative Curative care or curative medicine is the kind of health care traditionally oriented towards seeking a cure for an existent disease or medical condition. Curative care differs from preventive care and from palliative care (which concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms) and palliative Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than striving to halt, delay, or reverse progression of the disease itself or provide a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. Non- medicine, and in scope with public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual health).
Contents |
Levels
This takes place at primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary prevention levels.
| Level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Primary prevention | avoids the development of a disease.[2] Most population-based health promotion Health promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health". The primary means of health promotion occur through developing healthy activities are primary preventive measures. |
| Secondary prevention | activities are aimed at early disease detection, thereby increasing opportunities for interventions to prevent progression of the disease[3] and emergence of symptoms A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient, and not measured. |
| Tertiary prevention | reduces the negative impact of an already established disease by restoring function and reducing disease-related complications.[4] |
| Quaternary prevention | is the set of health activities that mitigate or avoid the consequences of unnecessary or excessive interventions in the health system.[5] |
Simple examples of preventive medicine include hand washing Hand washing for hand hygiene is the act of cleansing the hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or with the use of soap, for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms and immunizations Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent. Preventive care may include examinations and screening tests tailored to an individual's age, health, and family history. For example, a person with a family history of certain cancers or other diseases would begin screening at an earlier age and/or more frequently than those with no family history. On the other side of preventive medicine, some non-profit organizations, such as the Northern California Cancer Center On February 17, 2010, the Northern California Cancer Center officially changed its name to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California (CPIC). The new name was chosen to more accurately convey the organization’s focus on cancer prevention and its statewide coverage, apply epidemiological research towards finding ways to prevent diseases.
Universal, selective, and indicated
Gordon (1987) in the area of disease prevention,[6] and later Kumpfer and Baxley in the area of substance use[7] proposed a three-tiered preventive intervention classification system: universal, selective, and indicated prevention. Amongst others, this typology has gained favour and is used by the U.S. Institute of Medicine The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the United States National Academy of Sciences. The IOM is part of the United States National Academies, which also includes:, the NIDA and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction is an agency of the European Union. Established in 1993, the EMCDDA is located in Lisbon, Portugal.
| Tier | Definition |
|---|---|
| Universal prevention | addresses the entire population (national, local community, school, district) and aim to prevent or delay the abuse of alcohol Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. It is differentiated from alcohol dependence by the lack of symptoms such as tolerance and withdrawal. Alcohol abuse is sometimes referred to by the less specific term alcoholism. However, many, tobacco, and other drugs Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts. The terms have a huge range of definitions related to taking a psychoactive drug or. All individuals, without screening, are provided with information and skills necessary to prevent the problem. |
| Selective prevention | focuses on groups whose risk of developing problems of alcohol abuse or dependence is above average. The subgroups may be distinguished by characteristics such as age, gender, family history, or economic status. For example, drug campaigns in recreational settings. |
| Indicated prevention | involves a screening process, and aims to identify individuals who exhibit early signs of substance abuse and other problem behaviours. Identifiers may include falling grades among students, known problem consumption or conduct disorders Conduct disorder is a psychiatric category marked by a pattern of repetitive behavior wherein the rights of others or social norms are violated, alienation from parents, school, and positive peer groups etc. |
Outside the scope of this three-tier model is environmental prevention. Environmental prevention approaches are typically managed at the regulatory or community level, and focus on interventions to deter drug consumption. Prohibition and bans (e.g. smoking workplace bans Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces. Legislation may also define smoking as more generally being the carrying or possessing of any lit tobacco product, alcohol advertising bans Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with tobacco advertising, it is one of the most highly-regulated forms of marketing) may be viewed as the ultimate environmental restriction. However, in practice environmental preventions programmes embrace various initiatives at the macro and micro level, from government monopolies for alcohol sales, through roadside sobriety or drug tests, worker/pupil/student drug testing, increased policing in sensitive settings (near schools, at rock festivals), and legislative guidelines aimed at precipitating punishments (warnings, penalties, fines).
Professionals
Professionals involved in the public health aspect of this practice may be involved in entomology Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology. At some 1.3 million described species, insects account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms, date back some 400 million years, and have many kinds of interactions with humans and other forms of life on earth. It is a specialty within the field of biology. Though, pest control Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy, and public health inspections. Public health inspections can include recreational waters Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, water vapor or steam, pools A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic-size swimming pool.[citation needed] A pool can be built either above or in the ground, and from materials such as metal, plastic,, beaches A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea or lake. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, waves or cobblestones. The particles of which the beach is composed can sometimes instead have biological origins, such as shell fragments or coralline algae, food Food is any substance or materials eaten or drunk to provide nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and preparation and serving, and industrial Industry refers to the production of an economic good within an economy. There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law hygiene Hygiene is an old concept related to medicine, as well as to personal and professional care practices related to most aspects of living. In medicine and in home and everyday life settings, hygiene practices are employed as preventative measures to reduce the incidence and spreading of disease. In the manufacture of food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic inspections and surveys.
In the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, preventive medicine is a medical specialty A specialty in medicine is a branch of medical science. After completing medical school, physicians or surgeons usually further their medical education in a specific specialty of medicine by completing a multiple year residency. Medical practitioners who engage in a medical specialty are known as medical specialists, one of the 24 recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties The American Board of Medical Specialties is a non-profit physician-led umbrella organization for 24 of the 26 approved medical specialty boards in the United States. It is the largest voluntary-based physician specialty certification organization in the United States with over 750,000 US physicians having achieved certification by one or more of (ABMS). It encompasses three areas of specialization:
- General preventive medicine and public health
- Aerospace medicine
- Occupational medicine
In order to become board-certified in one of the preventive medicine areas of specialization, a licensed U.S. physician (M.D. It is a professional doctorate / first professional degree in some countries, including the United States and Canada, although training is entered after obtaining from 90 to 120 credit hours of university level work (see second entry degree) and in most cases after having obtained a Bachelors Degree. In other countries, such as United Kingdom and or D.O. Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a four-year graduate-level academic degree offered to physicians and surgeons in the United States. Holders of the D.O. degree are known as osteopathic medical physicians. D.O.s are trained much in the same way as M.D.s, with the addition of osteopathic manipulative medicine techniques) must successfully complete a preventive medicine medical residency Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree (MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB) and who practices medicine under the supervision of fully licensed physicians, usually in a hospital or clinic. A residency may follow the internship year or include the internship year as the program following a one-year internship An intern is someone who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment , making it similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. Student internships provide. Following that, the physician must complete a year of practice in that special area and pass the preventive medicine board examination. The residency program is at least two years in length and includes completion of a master's degree A master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. Within the area studied, graduates possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, in public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The (MPH) or equivalent. The board exam takes an entire day: the morning session concentrates on general preventive medicine questions, while the afternoon session concentrates on the one of the three areas of specialization that the applicant has studied.
In addition, there are two subspecialty areas of certification:
- Medical toxicology Medical toxicology, or clinical toxicology, is a subspecially of medicine. It is practiced by toxicologists, but toxicologic knowledge is often used in emergency medicine, occupational medicine and pediatrics. Toxicologic knowledge is applied in the assessment and treatment of acute or chronic poisoning, adverse drug reactions , overdoses, (MT)
- Undersea and hyperbaric Hyperbaric medicine, also known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy , is the medical use of oxygen at a level higher than atmospheric pressure medicine (UHB), formerly "undersea medicine"
These certifications require sitting for an examination following successful completion of an MT or UHB fellowship and prior board certification in one of the 24 ABMS-recognized specialties.
Prophylaxis
Prophylaxis (Greek Greek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical ancient Greek literature and the New Testament of "προφυλάσσω" to guard or prevent beforehand) is any medical or public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The procedure whose purpose is to prevent, rather than treat or cure a disease. In general terms, prophylactic measures are divided between primary prophylaxis (to prevent the development of a disease) and secondary prophylaxis (whereby the disease has already developed and the patient is protected against worsening of this process).
Examples
Some specific examples of prophylaxis include:
- Influenza vaccines "Influenza vaccination is the most effective method for preventing influenza virus infection and its potentially severe complications." are prophylactic.[8]
- Antibiotics In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth. Antibiotics belong to the broader group of antimicrobial compounds, used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungi and protozoa are sometimes used prophylactically: For example, during the 2001 anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, only a few days after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two Democratic U.S scare in the United States, patients believed to be exposed were given ciprofloxacin Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic chemotherapeutic antibiotic of the fluoroquinolone drug class. It is a second-generation fluoroquinolone antibacterial. It kills bacteria by interfering with the enzymes that cause DNA to rewind after being copied, which stops DNA and protein synthesis. In similar manner, the use of antibiotic ointments on burns and other wounds is prophylactic. Antibiotics are also given prophylactically just before some medical procedures such as pacemaker insertion.[9]
- Tricyclic antidepressants Tricyclic antidepressants are heterocyclic chemical compounds used primarily as antidepressants. The TCAs were first discovered in the early 1950s and were subsequently introduced later in the decade. They are named after their chemical structure, which contains three rings of atoms. The tetracyclic antidepressants (TeCAs), which contain four (TCAs) may, with caution, be an example of a chronic In medicine, a chronic disease is a disease that is long-lasting or recurrent. The term chronic describes the course of the disease, or its rate of onset and development. A chronic course is distinguished from a recurrent course; recurrent diseases relapse repeatedly, with periods of remission in between. As an adjective, chronic can refer to a migraine preventative (see Amitriptyline Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA). It is the most widely used TCA and has at least equal efficacy against depression as the newer class of SSRIs.[citation needed] and migraines' prevention by medicine Migraine is a neurological syndrome characterized by altered bodily perceptions, severe headaches, and nausea. Physiologically, the migraine headache is a neurological condition more common to women than to men. The word migraine was borrowed from Old French migraigne . The French term derived from a vulgar pronunciation of the Late Latin word).
- Antimalarials Prompt parasitological confirmation by microscopy or alternatively by RDTs is recommended in all patients suspected of malaria before treatment is started. Treatment solely on the basis of clinical suspicion should only be considered when a parasitological diagnosis is not accessible such as chloroquine Chloroquine , N'-(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl)-N,N-diethyl-pentane-1,4-diamine was discovered in 1934 by Hans Andersag and co-workers at the Bayer laboratories who named it "Resochin". It was ignored for a decade because it was considered too toxic for human use. During World War II United States government-sponsored clinical trials for anti- are used both in treatment and as prophylaxis by visitors to countries where malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas , Asia, and Africa. Each year, there are approximately 350–500 million cases of malaria, killing between one and three million people, the majority of whom is endemic to prevent the development of the parasitic Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the host Plasmodium, which cause malaria.
- Condoms are sometimes referred to as "prophylactics" because of their use to prevent pregnancy as well as the transmission of sexually transmitted infections.
- Low-molecular-weight heparin is used as a prophylaxis in hospital patients, as they are at risk for several forms of thrombosis due to their immobilisation.
- Professional cleaning of the teeth is dental prophylaxis.
- Risk Reducing or Prophylactic Mastectomies may be carried out for carriers of the BRCA mutation gene to minimise the risk of developing Breast Cancer
- Daily and moderate physical exercise in various forms can be called prophylactic because it can maintain or improve one's health. Cycling for transport appears to very significantly improve health by reducing risk of heart diseases, various cancers, muscular- and skeletal diseases, and overall mortality[10].
- Prophylaxis may be administered as vaccine. Prophylactic vaccines include: PEP, nPEP, PREP, or nPREP. PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis used in an occupational setting. nPEP is non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis. nPEP may be used in a recreational setting; for example, during intercourse, if the condom breaks and one partner is HIV-positive, nPEP will help to decrease the probability of spread of infection of HIV. PREP is often used in occupational settings, e.g., in hospital staff to prevent the spread of HIV or Hepatitis C from patient to staff. nPREP is a measure taken before exposure but in a non-occupational setting (non-occupational Pre-exposure prophylaxis); for example, injection drug users may seek nPREP vaccinations.
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Tue, 03 Aug 2010 11:04:54 GMT+00:00
Huffington Post (blog) Perhaps the wise, blind men and their elephant offer up a precautionary tale as we consider the modern challenges of preventive medicine . ... Obesity weighs heavily on health, lifespan in US: study AFP
Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 PDT
William Schaffner, MD Department of Preventive Medicine Vanderbilt University Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by dear tick ... cdn.icyou.com.
