{"id":214,"date":"2015-09-15T15:39:10","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T15:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/idealhealthcare.net\/?p=214"},"modified":"2015-12-01T06:19:52","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T06:19:52","slug":"disease-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idealhealthcare.net\/index.php\/2015\/09\/15\/disease-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Disease Prevention is Important"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Abstract<\/p>
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One of the most important pillars of sound health is efforts to prevent disease<\/a>. Not surprisingly, one of the most important pillars of a sound healthcare system is investment and efforts to prevent disease.<\/p>
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This post discusses the importance and evidence for investment in disease prevention and, in some cases, early disease detection.

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Why is an Ounce of Prevention Better than a Pound of Cure?<\/h1>\n

One of the first steps in understanding the significance of prevention\u00a0is to distinguish between disease prevention<\/em> and early<\/em> disease detection<\/em>. Each is a separate variable and data on expenditures for prevention should not aggregate these two expenditures. Instead we need separate data on expenditures for disease prevention and expenditure for early detection.<\/p>\n

Disease prevention entails steps taken to avoid getting a disease as much as\u00a0\"Breastpossible in the first place. Disease is not a given in this instance. Examples include vaccination programs, counselling for smoking cessation, obesity, taking Aspirin, reducing specific disease risk factors etc.<\/p>\n

Early detection involves detecting existing disease early in its course. Here suspicion or existence of disease is a given. Examples include periodic colonoscopy for detection of pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions, breast self examinations, mammograms, annual check-ups and in general, disease screening programs would fall under this category.<\/p>\n

What are the distinctions?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

If one does not appreciate this distinction, one can easily be misled into making wrong conclusions about the relative value of preventive healthcare. The two categories differ in the following aspects:


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  1. State of the patient<\/li>
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  2. Goal of intervention<\/li>
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  3. Timing of intervention<\/li>
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  4. Type of intervention<\/li>
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  5. Impact of intervention<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The table below summarizes these differences.<\/p>\n

    Types of Preventive Activities in Healthcare<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
    <\/td>Disease Prevention<\/th>Early Disease Detection<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    State of Patient<\/strong><\/td>Does not have the disease<\/td>Has the disease<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Goal of Intervention<\/strong><\/td>Avoid getting the disease<\/td>Enable early treatment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Timing of Intervention<\/strong><\/td>Before disease is detected<\/td>Periodically to detect disease<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Type of Intervention<\/strong><\/td>Patient education, vaccinations, proven medications, proven procedures<\/td>Screening procedures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Impact of Intervention<\/strong><\/td>Impact begins from the time of conception of fetus<\/td>Impact begins from the time of disease detection<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

    Why are these differences important?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

    The impact on population health is different for disease prevention activities versus disease detection activities. For example, it is estimated in a study<\/a> by the Centres for Disease Control that\u00a0asthma, high blood pressure, smoking and obesity each reduce productivity by 200- 440 U.S. Dollars per year per person. Given the low cost of patient education this makes the intervention economically efficient. However, early detection of breast\u00a0cancer through periodic screening mammograms\u00a0may not be an economically efficient tool unless it is done in a high risk population (Griffiths, McGrath, Vogel, Oncology<\/em>, March 1996).<\/p>\n

    Treatment without prevention is simply unsustainable<\/em><\/p>\n

    - Bill gates<\/h2><\/div><\/div>