Using a seat belt in a car is a method of preventing injuries in the event of an accident.
From the Latin praeventio , prevention is the action and effect of preventing (preparing in advance what is necessary for a purpose, anticipating a difficulty , foreseeing damage, warning someone of something).
For example: “The best way to combat AIDS is prevention” , “The Government has launched a prevention campaign to prevent the spread of dengue” , “My father is very cautious when traveling: he always says that “Prevention helps avoid accidents.”
Prevention to reduce risks
Prevention, therefore, is the provision made in advance to minimize a risk . The objective of prevention is to ensure that eventual damage does not materialize. This can be seen in the popular sayings “prevention is better than cure” and “prevention is better than cure” .
In other words, if a person takes precautions to avoid diseases , they will minimize the chances of having health problems. Therefore, it is better to invest in prevention than in palliative treatment .
Care and caution
It is possible to associate the notion of prevention with care or precaution , beyond what concerns oneself. Preventions can be taken at home (to avoid accidents, breakage of the structure, etc.), in the car (check the tires, engine), at work (wear appropriate safety clothing) and in any area of life. everyday life .
Preventing can also be the action of warning someone about something or about the danger that a relationship with a particular person poses : “I want to warn you about Juan: he is a very conflictive man and his business affairs never come to fruition,” “Erica wanted warn me about the situation, but I didn't listen to her."
For the prevention of COVID-19 and many other diseases, frequent hand washing is essential.
Prevention campaigns
Prevention campaigns serve to convey to the people the concern that a group of people with certain specific knowledge feels about a problem such as an epidemic. Although people often associate movements of this type with diseases, mainly AIDS, they are also carried out to raise awareness about other issues, such as occupational risks.
The basis of a prevention campaign is to ensure that the entire population understands the message and changes the habits necessary to improve their quality of life and that of those around them . For this reason, it is essential to use language accessible to all, avoiding technicalities whenever possible and trying to emphasize the consequences of not adopting the proposals.
This seems logical, given that a group of scientists developing a plan to combat a specific virus cannot expect an entire city to understand its strategy from a medical point of view; However, moving away from the essence of the concepts, from the true reasons that drive a prevention campaign, does not always generate completely positive results. Many times, trying to make the message as clear as possible distorts it and causes misunderstandings of varying severity.
The example of cholera and the case of cinema
During the 90s, for example, various prevention campaigns against cholera were carried out, and there were many cases of people drinking water with bleach because they had misunderstood the media's instructions.
On many occasions, cinema and television have depicted, sometimes with certain humorous touches, scenes in which a mass of people are warned about an imminent fire or explosion and are asked to remain calm, to which they respond. producing a real human stampede. This does not mean that most people are incapable of reacting to a problem of this magnitude; They simply do not have the necessary preparation and experience .