46. Primary/secondary/tertiary interventions

Preventive occupational health measures can target any health problem, whether physical or mental, chronic or acute, severe or benign. Preventive strategies are generally grouped into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, depending on whether they enable action to be taken before the problem appears, at the very beginning, or once the health problems are actually present. The definition of levels of prevention remains similar from one field to another, but the different prevention activities which refer to them vary both according to the field of study and according to the different studies. This entry describes these levels of prevention, and uses the prevention of work-related stress problems to illustrate practical examples and applications.