Prevention has been medicalized leading to frequent iatrogenic harms. This calls for quaternary prevention (P4) in prevention: to avoid unnecessary medicalization/interventions and its associated iatrogenic harms. We present a conceptual articulation which guides P4 in prevention. Geoffrey Rose shows the difference between “reductive” preventive measures (reduce risks derived from modern life, such as reducing sedentary and ultraprocessed food) and “additive” (add protective artificial factors such as vaccinations, screenings, lipid-lowering drugs). The great potential harms of additive preventive measures require systematic application of the precautionary principle (PP). The PP advises that persisting scientific doubts about significant potential harms of preventive interventions, the State should actively discourage them by requiring the proponents to provide the appropriate evidence of their effectiveness/safety, exploring harmless alternatives, and increasing public participation in decision-making process. Unfortunately, this approach does not often occur in potentially iatrogenic preventive measures.
Quaternary prevention; Disease prevention; Primary health care
Source: adapted from Tesser and Norman7.