Okuzeka
Public Health & Epidemiology vocabulary · Prevention and Vaccination

Primary prevention

Meaning in public health & epidemiology, with examples

nounCore term

In public health & epidemiology, primary prevention means: Action taken to stop a disease or injury from happening at all, for example vaccination, seat belt laws or reducing the salt in processed food.

In Turkish: birincil korunma, birincil koruma

How it is used

The first of the three levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary). It acts on healthy people before any disease begins and is often the most cost-effective. Some texts add primordial prevention, which tackles the conditions that create risk factors.

Example sentences

  1. Adding fluoride to drinking water is a classic example of primary prevention.

  2. Most of our budget still goes on treatment rather than primary prevention.

Common collocations

  • primary prevention programme
  • focus on primary prevention
  • levels of prevention
  • primordial prevention
  • secondary preventionFinding a disease early, before or soon after symptoms begin, and acting quickly to stop it from getting worse, for example through screening.
  • tertiary preventionReducing the impact of an illness that people already have, by preventing complications, disability and relapse and helping them live as well as possible.
  • vaccinationGiving a vaccine to a person so that their immune system learns to protect them against a specific infectious disease.
  • health promotionThe process of enabling people and communities to increase control over their health and improve it, through education, supportive environments, healthy policies and community action.

More terms: Prevention and Vaccination

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.