Beliefs of the Public Quiz

See Health Promotion. Option A is correct. Primary prevention prevents the onset of disease, usually by removing a risk factor or by increasing resistance to disease. Examples are vaccination, stopping smoking and eating more fruit and vegetables. Because it acts before any disease process has begun, it reduces incidence, which is the number of new cases appearing in a population over time. Secondary prevention then finds disease early in people without symptoms, usually through screening, and tertiary prevention limits the effects of disease once it is established, for example by preventing complications or by rehabilitation. The way to tell them apart is to ask when in the natural history of the disease the action takes place. Some authors add two further levels, primordial prevention (tackling root social causes so risk factors never arise) and quaternary prevention (protecting people from unnecessary medical intervention), but the classic three are the ones most often examined. A memory aid is that primary means first, so it comes before the disease does.

• Primary prevention: Stops disease starting by removing a risk factor or increasing resistance, for example vaccination or stopping smoking.
• Effect: It reduces incidence, the number of new cases appearing in a population over time.
• How to tell the levels apart: Ask when in the natural history of the disease the action takes place.