|
|
|
Interventions
|
View different types of interventions for infectious diseases:
View interventions by disease:
Reducing the devastating impact of infectious diseases can prevent deaths and improve quality of lives. There are proven and cost-effective medicines, vaccines and other products or methods to prevent and treat illness. Success stories from around the world provide clear evidence that infectious diseases can be controlled, eliminated or eradicated, even in the world's poorest countries. Developing and donor countries, along with private sector players, have demonstrated commitment through efforts to control or eliminate infectious diseases.
Preventive interventions can be conducted before there is an outbreak or endemic occurrence of disease. During the course of an outbreak or occurrence of disease, treatment and care interventions can bring relief to those afflicted and prevent further disease spread. Interventions may focus on diagnosing the presence of disease or changing behavior, attitudes and practices related to activities that lead to infection.
- Testing, diagnosing and counseling. Use of appropriate methods for diagnosing disease is of vital importance, particularly in light of the development of drug-resistant strains of infectious agents and the costly nature of second-line drugs.1 Counseling is important to ensure that the patient understands the short- and long-term implications of the diagnosis, the impact of the treatment regimen, and ways to protect others from the disease. Even in the event that the person is not infected, counseling can be useful in protecting him/her from becoming infected in the future.
- Biomedical prevention and treatment interventions. Vaccines, medical products (e.g., bed nets) and therapeutics are proven interventions that can lessen the impact of infectious diseases.
- Behavioral interventions for prevention of diseases. In an effort to prevent infection, programs may focus on raising awareness of how the disease is transmitted and promoting ways of decreasing the risk of transmission. Decreasing transmission may include regular vaccination of those at risk of infection, isolating contagious patients, encouraging basic hygiene-related activities (e.g., covering mouths when coughing and sneezing and washing hands well when possible), recommending the use of masks if necessary and reducing social interaction during outbreaks.
- Behavioral interventions for treatment of diseases. Treatment programs may focus on taking medicines as prescribed (i.e., patient adherence or compliance) and monitoring patients on treatment, particularly when there is high risk of the development of drug-resistant strains of the infectious agent or when others live in close quarters with the patient and may be exposed to the disease.
- Research. Current infectious disease research includes development of new diagnostic, prevention and treatment options, the study of the course and spread of disease and evaluation of interventions to determine their effectiveness.2
Interventions may use a variety of approaches, including combating the vector and infectious agent through environmental controls, focusing on specific diseases, applying a systematic approach to health and illness, using public policy to enact protocols, and conducting research into new methods of diagnosing, preventing or treating disease.
|
| 1 |
Wongsrichanalai C, Barcus MJ, Muth S, Sutamihardja A, Wernsdorfer WH. 2007. A review of malaria diagnostic tools: microscopy and rapid diagnostic test (RDT). Am J Trop Med Hyg 77(Suppl 6):119-27. |
| 2 |
Jamison D, Breman J, Measham A, Alleyne G, Claeson M, Evans D, et al. 2006. Disease control priorities in developing countries. Washington, DC: The World Bank. |
|
|
Share
