What is preventive health or preventive medicine? The word prevention is thrown around today in all sorts of conversations with what seems like an infinite amount of definitions. Ultimately, what does it look like?
Medline Plus, describes preventive health as a set of screening exams including:
- Disease screenings like high blood pressure or diabetes
- Future disease risks like high cholesterol or obesity
- Alcohol use and resources on how to quit smoking
- Healthy lifestyle including healthy eating and exercise
- Vaccination updates
- Maintaining a relationship with a healthcare provider
They also mention the following lab tests:
- Blood pressure, blood sugar,
blood cholesterol - Colon cancer screening and genetic testing for breast/ovarian cancer
- Mammogram and pap smear
- Osteoporosis screening
- Depression screening
- HIV and other STI tests
The Center for Disease Control (CDC), describes preventive health through the lens of the Healthy People 2020 objectives, which include pretty much everything:
| Access to health services | Immunization, Infectious disease |
| Age focused health (i.e. healthy aging) | Injury & violence prevention |
| Blood disorders & safety | LGBTQ health |
| Disability and health | Mental health & disorders |
| Education & community-based programs | Nutrition, weight status, physical activity |
| Environmental health | Occupational safety |
| Family planning: maternal, infant, child, adolescent health | Oral health, Sleep health, Vision |
| Safety: food & medical products | |
| Genomics | Public health & preparedness |
| Global health | Social determinants of health |
| Health communication & technology | Substance & Tobacco abuse |
| Hearing, sensory, communication disorders | Wellness & quality of life |
As well as a multitude of diseases & disorders…
| Arthritis | Osteoporosis | Chronic back conditions |
| Cancer | Chronic kidney disease | Dementias |
| Diabetes | HIV | Heart disease |
| Stroke | Respiratory disease | STIs |
Phew! Are you tired of reading yet? Lastly, the American Association for Naturopathic Physicians describes their stance on prevention like this:
“Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process… Naturopathic physicians emphasize the prevention of disease by assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and by making appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness.”
All of these things are preventive health
Preventive vs. Preventative?
I am in no ways a word smith or grammar pro, but here is difference between the two… there is NONE! Both preventive and preventative mean exactly the same thing and share all definitions.
Preventive: designed to keep something undesirable such as illness, harm, or accidents from occurring
If you want to be exact, preventive is the ‘original’ adjective and preventative is the variant, but who is counting! I choose to use the sleeker and simpler preventive, but it is personal choice.
In Summary…
There is no right or wrong way to describe preventive health. It encompasses many parts of health care, but it is not just up to the physicians and health care professionals. The best part about preventive health is that you, the patient, have more control than ever about how healthy you are and about how healthy you can become! Most of us are already doing things in our lives that are considered preventive medicine and are taking steps towards becoming the best, healthiest version of ourselves. We all can achieve optimum health and it does not need to be accomplished through huge life changes, but rather small baby steps. Let’s start building the best, healthiest, and happiest version of you today!
Every week I will post 3 tips and tricks to improve your health and well-being. You can use some or all of the tips depending on how they fit in your life. The tips will be in the following categories: Motivational Monday, Workout Wednesday, and Foodie Friday. I also will post weekly on Sunday about a health/wellness/fitness topic that is close to my heart. If you have any health questions or topic areas you would like me to focus on feel free to send me an email and I will try to highlight them for you.
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This is preventive health! 
So proud of you almost E!
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Yay! This is really cool!!! I am proud of you and am looking forward to future posts!!!!
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