Preventive Medicine Exam: Detailed Questions and
Answers with Explanations
1.What are the three levels of prevention in preventive medicine? Provide an
example of each.
Answer:
Primary prevention: Prevents disease before it occurs (e.g., vaccination).
Secondary prevention: Early detection and treatment (e.g., cancer
screening).
Tertiary prevention: Reduces complications of established disease (e.g.,
rehabilitation after stroke).
Explanation:
These levels represent a continuum from preventing disease onset to managing
established illness to reduce disability.
2.Define primordial prevention and explain how it differs from primary
prevention.
Answer:
Primordial prevention aims to prevent the emergence of risk factors themselves
(e.g., tobacco control policies), while primary prevention targets existing risk
factors to prevent disease.
Explanation:
Primordial prevention addresses social and environmental determinants before
risk factors develop.
3.What criteria should a disease meet to be suitable for screening?
Answer:
The disease should be an important health problem, have a detectable early
stage, an effective treatment, a reliable and acceptable test, and screening should
improve outcomes.
