Levels of Disease Prevention : Mnemonic

Level	Mnemonic	Target population	Goals	Mode of intervention
Primordial	Prevent risk factors	General population	Prevent emergence of risk factors	Health education Health promotion
Primary	Prevent disease	General population	Prevent disease onset	Lifestyle modification Immunization
Secondary	Screening	Subclinical (asymptomatic)	Prevent symptom onset	Early diagnosis Prompt optimized & sustained care
Tertiary	Treatment	Clinical (symptomatic)	Prevent clinical disease progression & complications	Rehabilitation Disability prevention
Quarternery	Quit unnecessary treatment	Symptomatic patients but overmedicalized or not treatable	Prevent overtreatment & iatrogenic harm	Rehabilitation Disability prevention

Example

For Diabetes mellitus:

1. Primordial prevention: Health education about diabetes mellitus
2. Primary prevention: Healthy diet and exercise to prevent diabetes onset in future
3. Secondary prevention: Glucose screening for type 2 diabetes mellitus
4. Tertiary prevention: Use medications to treat previously diagnosed diabetes
5. Quarternery prevention: Discontinue sulfonylurea after multiple hypoglycemic episodes