Preventive Health Services

The easiest and most cost-effective way to deal with diseases is to take necessary precautions before contracting the illness. The activities conducted in this field are referred to as preventive health services.

The aim of preventive health services is to prevent the occurrence of disease, minimize the impact of disease, or delay the progression of disease and disability when prevention is not possible. Our unit aims to provide continuous and comprehensive medical care to every individual seeking medical attention, regardless of age, gender, or condition. Part of this continuous and comprehensive care involves ensuring the patient's health through appropriate and effective interventions to enhance well-being.

Preventive health services are provided alongside therapeutic services to ensure the patient remains healthy. The increase in life expectancy today has also led to a rise in chronic diseases. Most of these chronic diseases (such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases, obesity, cancer, etc.) are preventable.

Preventive health services continue their activities within the framework of epidemiology, developing protective mechanisms based on how a disease originates or affects individuals, using known or new methods. Epidemiology, the fundamental instrument of preventive health services, is a branch of science that examines the definition, distribution, and frequency of conditions affecting individuals or environmental conditions related to the causes of a disease or hazard.

Preventive health services aim to halt the progression (progression) of a disease at any stage in an individual or community. Activities in this field are divided into environmental and human-focused approaches. While environmental practices are carried out in collaboration with professions such as chemists, engineers, veterinarians, alongside healthcare workers, human-focused preventive medicine practices encompass preventive health services provided by all healthcare workers where physicians are involved.

Regarding individual-focused preventive health services, these services are grouped into the following 4 categories:

• Vaccination of susceptible individuals
• Ensuring individuals' appropriate nutrition
• Periodic examination and general screenings for healthy individuals for early diagnosis
• Education of individuals on health matters

Today, most preventive health services are provided by primary healthcare workers. Primary healthcare workers offer a wide range of services, from family medicine to school vaccinations, home healthcare services, and nutrition counseling, where individuals, whether patients, healthy, or at risk, can access services free of charge.

Specialist Dietitian Zübeyde Semiz

Dietitian and Nutrition Specialist