APPLICATION OF LEVELS OF

PREVENTIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

DISEASES
PRESENTED BY/
RASHA M OHAM ED EL SAY ED ABD EL GHANY .

Primordial Prevention
Primordial prevention consists of actions to modify population health
determinants and inhibit the establishment of factors (environmental,
economic, social, behavioral) known to increase the future risk of disease. It
addresses determinants at the systemic level rather than modifying personal
risk factors, which is the goal of primary prevention.

In the case of mental health diseases the primordial prevention aims at

promoting normal neurodevelopment. Even though there is no consensus on
which might be the pathophysiological mechanisms to be addressed during
early development, promising findings suggest that developmental
anomalies and behavioral deficits observed during childhood may be, at
least partially, modifiable.

Examples of primordial prevention include:

1- Ways people have found to stay mentally well:

 Talk about your feelings. Just being listened to can help you feel
supported and less alone with any problems you’re going
through.
 Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep and mental health are closely
linked: mental ill-health can affect your sleep, and poor sleep
can affect your mental well-being.
 Eat well. A balanced diet can improve your sense of well-being
and your mood.
  Stay active. Physical activity is not only good for your body, but
it’s also great for your mind.
 Practice mindfulness, a way to be fully engaged and present in
the moment.
 Keep in touch. Supportive friends can help you deal with the
stresses of life, make you feel cared for and offer a different
view from whatever’s going on in your head.
 Care for others, whether that’s working on relationships with
family, letting go of old grudges or volunteering.

2- Prenatal care and childhood vaccination are examples of preventative

measures that have benefited both physical and mental health
3- Perinatal phosphatidylcholine and N-acetylcysteine administration to
support infants’ brain development and anti-inflammatory neuro
protection.
4- Lifetime omega-3, fatty acid, vitamin, sulforaphane, and prebiotic
supplementation to support good mental health by reducing neuro
inflammation, oxidative stress, and microbiota dysbiosis.
5- School-based behavioral interventions to minimize risk of bullying
and peer rejection as well as substance abuse.
6- Exercise training to support brain plasticity, structure and connectivity
as well as cognitive functioning.

Primary Prevention
Primary prevention focuses on the prevention of mental health disorders
in the community before they occur. This level of prevention aims to
decrease risk factors and increase protective factors in order to prevent a
mental health disorder from occurring in the first place.

The primary prevention targets those individuals vulnerable to developing

mental disorders and their consequences because of their bio-psycho-social
attributes, e.g., infants with low-birth-weight (LBW), vulnerable children
with learning difficulties or victims of maltreatment, elderlies, etc..
Examples of primary prevention activities include:

1- Home visits and new-born day care facilities for LBW infants.
2- Preschool programs for all children living in resource-deprived areas.
3- Support groups for vulnerable elderlies, etc.
4- Parent-child interaction training program is an indicated prevention
strategy that offers support to children whose parents have recognized
them as having behavioral difficulties.
5- Youth groups and clubs, which help to increase community bonds and
support; parent classes; and education to prevent substance abuse,
which is a key risk factor for a number of mental health disorders.

Secondary Prevention
Secondary prevention focuses on the early detection and prompt
intervention of mental health disorders. At this level of prevention, a patient
already has a mental health disorder, and secondary prevention is aimed at
detecting the disorder early in order to intervene promptly.

Examples of secondary prevention activities include:

1- Social and emotional development curricula provided in elementary

schools, group-based psychotherapy for children of parents with
depressive disorders.
2- Efforts to identify and treat adolescents and young adults who appear
to be at clinical high risk (often termed “ultra-high risk,” although the
rate of false positives remains high) for schizophrenia.
3- Suicide hotlines and crisis centers may also be categorized as
secondary prevention, where the disorder already exists, but
mitigation is possible before the disorder escalates.
4- Prevention of preterm birth and perinatal depression as well as
initiatives to prevent bullying and traumatic childhood experiences
and to reduce risk of adolescents engaging in substance abuse.
5- Clinical high‐ risk groups for psychosis or children with common
mental health problems.
Tertiary Prevention
Tertiary prevention focuses on the period after a mental health disorder or
crisis has already occurred. The focus at this point is to help promote the
patient's recovery as well as to prevent further complications.

Examples of tertiary prevention include:

1- Outpatient support for a patient following a hospitalization related to a

mental health disorder or crisis.
2- It can include pharmacological therapy (Medical treatments delivered
during the course of diseases can be considered tertiary prevention.)
3- Relapse prevention is another form of tertiary prevention. In
psychiatry, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention are
exemplified.
4- Providing psychosocial treatments to reduce disability among
individuals with serious mental illnesses.
5- Support groups for family and friends of a patient who has committed
suicide as a way for them to begin the healing process.

Quaternary Prevention
Quaternary prevention is: "action taken to identify patients at risk of
over medicalization, to protect him from new medical invasion, and to
suggest to him interventions, which are ethically acceptable.