Prevention and Intervention

Primary prevention

Primary prevention: the purpose is to stop a disease to develop in the first place 

• Keep people disease free such as being physically active, wearing sunscreen, eating healthy

• Easiest prevention but has been the least common historically 

Secondary prevention

Secondary prevention: prevention that is aimed at detecting a disease at its earlier stages 

• Example: scanning ur lungs for lung cancer 

• Can involve things such as taking steps to prevent something from getting worse (like heart disease) 

Tertiary prevention

Tertiary prevention: the disease has advanced past the early stage and treatment is trying to prevent it from getting worse

• Hardest and most expensive prevention historically

What are the levels of prevention (e.g., individual)?

Individual, group, organization, community, population,

Individual

• (lowest level of prevention) has a higher success rate 

Example: primary care doctor recommends you to take a vaccine 

Group   

• (there's a group that's the target of intervention) 

Example: a group of people with Type A behavior with a risk of heart attacks are sent to counseling, therapy, rehab

Organization

• (the targets of the intervention are all affiliated with the organization)

Example: at a school, improving school lunches to be more nutritious  

Community

• (broader intervention which can be a city or neighborhood) 

Example: in a city adding more parks or bike lanes so people can be more active

Population

(anybody intervention) 

Example: bike or motorcycle helmet law or adding a billboard to help people quit smoking 

The population rate of success is not higher than individual success, but some people still benefit from it. 

Intervention

message framing; tversky n kahneman)

Specific programs designed to introduce ways to change behavior 

What is prospect theory?

Decisions are affected by how messages are presented and the type of behavior targeted 

• people respond differently to messages that are framed differently

What are loss- and gain-framed messages?

Loss framed: emphasizes costs of behavioral choice (the downside, the negative)

• Talking about a 50% loss 

• How one interprets to the loss 

Gain framed: emphasizes benefits of behavioral choice (the benefits, the pros of things)

• Talking about a 50% gain 

For what types of health behaviors (detection vs. prevention) are loss- and gain-framed messages most effective?

These are psychological difference which are triggered by emotions such as being scared 

• People interpret loss differently in terms of how risky things are 

Screening (for disease)/detection- risky

Prevention- not risky

Gain free are not psychologically risky 

What were the results of studies by Meyerowitz and Chaiken (1987)?

Prospect theory (message framing) study 

College women given informational pamphlets on BSE (purpose is to stop or prevent breast cancer) with gain- or loss- framed information (meyerowitz n chaiken) 

• Research shows that women who do BSEs have an increased chance of finding a tumor in the early, more treatable stage of the disease 

• Research shows that women who dont do BSEs have a decreased chance of finding a tumor in the early, more treatable stage of the disease 

Takeaway: compared to people given again frame pamphlets or just pamphlets only  , those that got the loss frame messages about BSE were the most effective. 

what were the 4 conditions of Meyerowitz and Chaiken study?

Pamphlet (info about breast cancer, recommendation to do BSEs) + gain framed message

Pamphlet + loss-framed message 

Pamphlet only 

No pamphlet 

What were the results of studies by Detweiller et al. (1999)?

Another study by Detweiler et al and using sunscreen 

Loss- and gain-framed messages about sun-protective behaviors given to beachgoers. 

• The gain should be the most effective 

• DVs: intentions to use sunscreen, redeemed coupon for free sunscreen

• IVs: different types of pamphlets 

Gain- using sunscreen n how it benefits you  

Loss: about using sunscreen 

• Some participants already had a plan to use sunscreen, but there was no major result. The intervention wasn't effective.

• Those who did not plan to use sunscreen showed a major result, and the intervention was effective. 

Takeaway: Gain-frame messages were more effective than loss-frame messages for sunscreen.