Question

Preventive medicine (e.g., screening, early diagnosis, and putting people on medication to modify risk factors) is not making much progress in creating a healthier society. Why is this the case?

Answer 1

Ans) Preventive health behaviors: These are actions that healthy people undertake to keep themselves or others healthy and prevent disease or detect illness when there are no symptoms.

- Examples include handwashing with soap, using insecticide treated mosquito nets and exclusive breastfeeding to age six months.

- Preventive care is important because it helps you stay healthy and access prompt treatment when necessary, and it can also help reduce your overall medical expenses.

- Stay healthier and get more effective treatment – Many types of screenings and tests can catch a disease before it starts.

- Background risk factors, such as age, sex, level of education and genetic composition; Behavioural risk factors, such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity; and Intermediate risk factors, such as elevated blood lipids, diabetes, high blood pressure and overweight/obesity.

- Most Americans miss out on preventive healthcare. “Some of the commonly known reasons for not getting the recommended preventive services include:

• lack of health insurance
• lack of a usual doctor or nurse
• problems with health care delivery including wait times in clinics or doctors' offices.