Question

As a nurse explain the importance of these.

1.Health promotion and maintenance, including early detection

2.Illness prevention

3.Diagnosis and treatment

4.Rehabilitation and long-term care

5. Secondary care services

6. Tertiary care service

7. Quaternary care

Answer 1

Let's start with the basic understanding of health promotion. Health promotion is a term basically used for providing awareness and better understanding of concepts of health to the common population. The awareness can be given to people by two methods, first, through mass education and awareness camps and programs and second, a targated approach directed towards those who are at risk. e.g. Educating smokers for risks and harms of smoking and encouraging them to stop smoking.

• Maintainence of health is a different concept, requiring basic knowledge of hygiene and sanitation, taking balanced diet, regular physical excercises etc.
• Early detection of diseases usually helps in better controlling them and treating them properly before they pose a major threat to the individual and to the community.

Prevention

Prevention is defined as preventing the disease or condition to its earliest and implying any measures to limit the consequences of the same if it has already is at advanced stage.

Prevention can be categorised in four types:

A. Primordial Prevention: When no risk factor and no disease are present. It includes mass education and awareness about general health and better life.

B. Primary Prevention: When risk factors are present but the disease itself is not present in the community. e.g. Awaring people about rabies and its common prevention methods in communities in which stray dogs, cats, monkeys are in abundance as they are the vectors of rabies to human.

C. Secondary Prevention: When the disease is present, any measures taken to limit the progression of disease and to treat the patient falls under this category.

D. Tertiary Prevention: When the disease is advanced and cannot be stopped or completely cured, steps are taken to rehabilitate and conserve normal body functions as much as possible. These measures come in this category.

• Early diagnosis is always beneficial as it gives time to give proper treatment in early stages of disease and often in early stages, most diseases are curable. So, delayed diagnosis almost always leads to worsening the condition and making the treatment difficult and sometimes even impossible.
• Rehabilitation is a phase of recovery in which the patient recovers from a disability caused by a disease or an injury. It usually of short period which takes weeks to months in comparision with long term care which takes years or sometimes may require a lifelong assistence.
• Secondary care is often used as synonym of hospital care which includes the whole emegency department and all the care provided there, intensive care, child birth, imaging services etc.
• Tertiary care is usually required after secondary care which includes in-patient care, recovery and rehabilitaion. Quarternary care is like extension of the tertiary care, in which the pateint is transferred to a advanced facility and experimental diagnostic facilitis.