Merge pull request #134 from NHSDigital/pps-definitions

Personalised prevention - our working definitions

Author: Demotive

app/_layouts/product.njk

@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
         "Vaccinations in the App"
       ] },
       { title: "Personalised prevention", services: [
+        "Personalised prevention",
         "Lung health check",
         "Personalised prevention platform",
         "Smoking cessation"

app/posts/personalised-prevention/2025/07/2025-07-03-definitions.md

@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+---
+title: "Personalised prevention – working definitions"
+description: "Working definitions of terms we use when we’re talking about personalised prevention"
+date: 2025-07-03
+---
+
+These working definitions aim to give people working on personalised prevention services a shared understanding of the language they’re using internally.
+
+## Prevention
+
+Any work or activity we do to stop someone getting ill with a named clinical condition.
+
+### Primary prevention
+
+Primary prevention aims to stop people from getting ill in the first place. This could involve:
+
+* preventing exposure to hazards, for example by introducing legislation to ban asbestos or mandating seatbelts
+* increasing resistance to disease or injury, for example through vaccinations
+* helping people change their unhealthy habits, for example by eating better or exercising more often
+
+The NHS can help people make healthy changes by providing things like:
+
+* support to quit smoking before they develop lung cancer
+* weight management programmes to prevent diabetes
+* exercise programmes to keep your heart healthy
+* nutrition advice to prevent high blood pressure
+
+### Secondary prevention
+
+Secondary prevention aims to stop people at the start of an illness from getting more ill by catching and treating problems early. Examples of secondary prevention in the NHS could be helping people:
+
+* get regular health checks that spot high cholesterol before you have a heart attack
+* get blood sugar tests that catch diabetes in its early stages
+* have mental health check-ins that identify anxiety before it becomes severe
+* get blood pressure monitoring that prevents strokes
+
+### Tertiary prevention
+
+Tertiary prevention aims to reduce the impact of an ongoing illness or injury. It involves helping people manage long-term, often complex, health problems and injuries so they can improve their quality of life and their life expectancy. Examples of tertiary prevention could be:
+
+* cardiac or stroke rehabilitation programmes
+* chronic disease management programmes for things like diabetes, arthritis or depression
+* support groups that help members share strategies for living well
+* vocational rehabilitation programmes to retrain workers for new jobs when they have recovered as much as possible
+
+## Clinical versus lifestyle
+
+### Clinical
+
+The examination and treatment of patients and ill people by a medical professional.
+
+Clinical services are specifically provided by medical professionals.
+
+A clinical service recommended by personalised prevention might be a self-referral to talking therapies.
+
+### Lifestyle
+
+The way someone lives.
+
+A lifestyle service recommended by personalised prevention might be a non-medical service we think could help stop you getting ill, for example WeightWatchers or a yoga class.
+
+Lifestyle services do not need to be delivered by medical professionals.
+
+## Assisted and unassisted services
+
+### Assisted services
+
+Any service where there’s real-time human help, for example a taught Zumba dance exercise class or a stop-smoking app with a coach.
+
+### Unassisted services
+
+Any service that can be used in a self-service way, for example by:
+* reading a stop-smoking book
+* using a gym alone (not doing a class or getting personal training)
+* using an app with an AI coach
+
+## Behaviour change support
+
+### NHS only
+
+Services presenting as “from the NHS”, for example Couch to 5k or Better Health services. These services might be funded centrally by organisations like NHSE or DHSC.
+
+### NHS-supported services
+
+Services with any funding from DHSC, NHSE or an organisation like a charity.
+
+A service that’s delivered in partnership with a charity like Mind or anything with an NHS logo on it, for example the Richmond Wellbeing Service.
+
+### Wider healthcare prevention services
+
+Anything else not funded by NHS bodies, such as services provided by:
+* councils, for example leisure centres, gyms or wellness hubs
+* the third sector, for example by a community group or voluntary organisation
+* private organisations, for example, Better Health recommends WeightWatchers and Joe Wicks