"Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases."
Techniques and strategies used to prevent the onset of diseases that may impact physical health and wellbeing.
Immunizations: The process of receiving a vaccine to prevent infectious diseases.
Healthy Eating: Consuming a balanced and nutritious diet to prevent various diseases.
Physical Activity: Engaging in regular exercise to maintain physical health and prevent chronic diseases.
Hygiene: Practicing good hygiene habits to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
Sleep: Getting adequate sleep to prevent various health issues and help the body heal.
Stress Management: Managing stress to prevent mental health issues and reduce the risk of physical health problems.
Smoking Cessation: Quitting smoking to prevent various chronic diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, etc.
Alcohol Moderation: Limiting alcohol consumption to prevent alcohol-related diseases and harmful effects.
Safe Sex Practices: Adopting safe sex practices to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Sun Safety: Practicing sun safety measures to prevent skin cancer and other skin-related issues.
Environmental Safety: Taking precautions to prevent exposure to hazardous substances and environments.
Regular Health Check-ups: Getting periodic health check-ups to detect any health issues early on and take preventive measures.
Primary prevention: This is the first level of prevention, which involves measures and actions aimed at preventing the onset of disease. It includes lifestyle changes, immunization, and environmental hygiene.
Secondary prevention: This form of prevention aims to detect and treat a disease in its early stages, before it becomes fully developed. It includes regular check-ups, screening tests, and early interventions for a disease.
Tertiary prevention: This prevention involves measures to manage and treat the disease that has already developed. It includes medical treatment, rehabilitation, and disease management programs.
Behavioral prevention: This includes self-care actions, such as exercise, stress management, and healthy diet, to prevent the onset of chronic diseases.
Genetic prevention: This involves genetic screening to identify individuals who are at a higher risk of developing certain diseases. It enables early detection and intervention for these individuals.
Community-based prevention: This is a population-level approach to prevention, that focuses on creating a healthy environment, promoting healthy lifestyle choices, and supporting individuals and families.
Medical prevention: This refers to the use of medications, vaccines, and other medical interventions to prevent or manage diseases.
Occupational prevention: This type of prevention aims to prevent workplace-related injuries and diseases by implementing safety measures, providing protective equipment, and educating workers.
Environmental prevention: This involves actions to prevent diseases caused by environmental factors, such as pollution, exposure to toxins, and climate change.
Personal hygiene prevention: This involves maintaining personal cleanliness and hygiene to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. It includes measures such as hand washing, food handling, and waste management.
"Disease and disability are affected by environmental factors, genetic predisposition, disease agents, and lifestyle choices."
"Disease prevention relies on anticipatory actions that can be categorized as primal, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention."
"A 2004 study showed that about half of all deaths in the United States in 2000 were due to preventable behaviors and exposures."
"Leading causes included cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, unintentional injuries, diabetes, and certain infectious diseases."
"This same study estimates that 400,000 people die each year in the United States due to poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle."
"According to estimates made by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 55 million people died worldwide in 2011, two-thirds of this group from non-communicable diseases."
"Preventive healthcare is especially important given the worldwide rise in prevalence of chronic diseases and deaths from these diseases."
"One of them is prevention of teenage smoking through information giving."
"[...] perform disease screening, identify risk factors for disease, discuss tips for a healthy and balanced lifestyle, stay up to date with immunizations and boosters, and maintain a good relationship with a healthcare provider."
"Encouraging parents to turn down the temperature of their home water heater in order to avoid scalding burns."
"Checking for hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperglycemia (high blood sugar, a risk factor for diabetes mellitus), hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol), screening for colon cancer, depression, HIV and other common types of sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea, mammography (to screen for breast cancer), colorectal cancer screening, a Pap test (to check for cervical cancer), and screening for osteoporosis."
"Genetic testing can also be performed to screen for mutations that cause genetic disorders or predisposition to certain diseases such as breast or ovarian cancer."
"However, these measures are not affordable for every individual..."
"the cost effectiveness of preventive healthcare is still a topic of debate."