Pharmacology

Claudia

Disease prevention entails avoiding disease and includes all measures and plans made to prevent the onset of an illness or health condition before the occurrence of an unwanted or undesirable outcome. There are three levels of health promotion and disease prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention refers to those measures put forth to prevent the occurrence of a disease or injury before it begins (Hubley & Copeman, 2018). It includes practices such as regular exercise and immunization to prevent infections. Secondary prevention entails measures aimed at early detection or diagnosis of a disease or injury to prevent it from developing to severe levels. It involves regular checkups and screening. Tertiary prevention entails preventive measures that lead to rehabilitation following severe illness or injury. Tertiary prevention measures include rehabilitation and re-education.

The levels of disease prevention and health promotion help determine where a patient or community lies in terms of their health needs. They enable nurses to identify the spectrum under which a patient falls and therefore decide on their educational needs (Rosas & Knight, 2019). For instance, a person who does not exercise regularly is at risk of developing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Such a person requires education to help them live healthily and reduce the risk of infections