Diseases are part of our environment and most of them originate from the environment we live. Thus, literary speaking, human beings and other living organism are brushing shoulders with diseases. The pathogens that cause diseases are usually found in all habitats including the air we breathe and the food we take. We are hence in constant risk of contracting diseases. However, there are techniques that have been developed to ensure that diseases are prevented from infecting human beings. Such techniques achieve this by controlling the disease process. Some of the methods which have been used since time immemorial to prevent diseases by controlling the disease process include risk reduction and risk avoidance techniques. Over time these techniques have been perfected with the emergence of new technologies for disease assessment in a given area over a specified period of time. This paper aims at reviewing some of the risk reduction and risk avoidance techniques that pertain to disease prevention and control of the disease process.
Risk reduction aims at minimizing human exposure to those factors that in one way or the other predispose an individual to a disease or its causative agent for that matter (What is Disaster Risk Reduction?). By limiting human exposure to these factors, the interaction between human beings and pathogens or disease is minimized thereby reducing chances of infection. This will help a great deal in preventing infection and spread of the disease and in the process controlling it. On the other hand, risk avoidance techniques are aimed ensuring that there is no interaction between human beings and those risk factors that may predispose them to a disease process (What is Disaster Risk Reduction?). Risk reduction and risk avoidance techniques include quarantine, culling, maintenance of hygiene, avoidance of infected areas, treatment and vaccination among others. However, prevention of diseases and control of the disease process requires using such methods as sound policies, regulations and effective implementation of the methods. Thus, the government and various institutions especially hospitals play a major role in the success of these two techniques. It is the government that will pass these policies and supervise their implementation (Scutchfield, Mays and Glen 2009). On the other hand, the health institutions such as hospitals are tasked with diagnosis, carrying out research on diseases, formulation of disease management policies and working hand in hand with the government in their implementation (Laupacis 1988).
Pathogens that cause diseases usually have hosts which they use as a channel of infecting human beings and spreading through a population. The infected animals are usually diagnosed with the disease and remove from the rest and killed. Thus, the risk of the disease spreading to human beings and other animals is avoided. On the other hand, individuals especially in the case of human beings can be quarantined. This seclusion of infected individuals helps in reducing the risk of contact with other healthy members of the population. The disease spread will be prevented and controlled. Quarantine is a risk avoidance technique as it prevents the interaction between an individual and the predisposing factors which in this case is contact with an infected individual. Vaccination is a risk reduction technique as it boosts the immune system thereby reducing the chances of infection even if an individual is exposed to a pathogen or predisposing factors. Both maintenance of hygiene, avoidance of infected areas and treatment will ensure that there is no interaction between individuals and the pathogens or predisposing factors.
References
Laupacis, A., et al. (1988). An assessment of clinically useful measures of the consequences of treatment. The New England journal of medicine 318(26), 1728–33.
Scutchfield, D., Mays, G. and Keck, W. (2009). Principles of Public Health Practice (3rd ed.). Stamford, Connecticut: Cengage Learning.
What is Disaster Risk Reduction? ISDR United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. Web.