Page 83 - strategy of health education

Universal, primary prevention is concerned with promoting health and

healthy behavior. To target the creation of a health problem that may occur, we

need to know the causes of that health problem. Causes of a health problem may

be personal characteristics and/or risk factors. In practice, this means that one

must have insight into the personal characteristics and/or risk factors showing

that there is a relationship with the health problem. If there is a demonstrated

link between a personal characteristic and/or risk factor and a health problem,

this can be the input for prevention. Except for exposure to the risk factor itself,

prevention is focused on the effects of exposure.

Examples of universal, primary prevention for nursing professionals

 Examples of universal, primary prevention are youth vaccinations,

attention to oral hygiene, safe sexual behavior and (passive) smoking.

 Infants and young children should be vaccinated against diphtheria,

whooping cough, typhoid, polio, and measles.

 Caries prevention focused on good oral hygiene is necessary for children

aged 0–4 years, because at least 50% of 5- to 7-year-old children have

caries in their deciduous teeth. When in a learning package, attention is

driven toward brushing teeth in primary education, we call this universal,

primary prevention.

 Universal, primary prevention is also preventing children from passive

smoking. In about 45% of the households, children are exposed to one or
more smokers. Preventive activities of nursing professionals should be

aimed at informing parents about the health risks associated with passive

smoking. If parents themselves do not want to quit smoking, the

intervention should be aimed at not smoking in the proximity of the child.

An example of universal, primary prevention for the elderly is to optimize

movement and feeding behavior. Physical activity has a positive effect on, for

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