Prevention

Prevention is intervention that is designed to reduce the likelihood of physical illnesses or mental health disorders occuring in individuals, groups of people, or institutions. Efforts in prevention have been regarded as complementary to promoting health and optimal functioning, improving people’s quality of life, protecting people from distress, and reducing the risk for physical illnesses or mental health disorders.

Among caregiving professionals, Gerald Caplan’s definition of prevention has dominated the field of public health, specifically mental health. Caplan categorized three types of prevention as primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary prevention refers to interventions aimed at preventing or prohibiting disorders from ever happening to a big group of people, such as antidrug campaigns conducted in schools to prevent substance use among adolescents. Secondary prevention comprises interventions focused ...

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