When our PM Narendra Modi spoke about Preventive Health Care at the inauguration of the Patanjali Research INstitute, we were happy to know that India is embracing prevention along with cure. After all, prevention is better than cure. Over the years, prevention has become an important aspect in the healthcare industry all over the world. The stress on Identification and minimisation of disease risk factors, existing disease development and improvement and early detection of disease through screening are a few important points of preventive care. During a routine check up for breast cancer detection, the doctor found a lump, which was then operated within a few days of diagnosis, resulting in her leading a cancer free life now. So, when the doctors lay emphasis on screenings for early detection, they lay emphasis on prevention.

“ In a country like India, where one epidemic can kill thousands, and there is a huge section which can’t easily afford medicines, prevention is the only cure,” says Dr VIkram Shetty, who is serving a corporate. But having said that, he also believes that we are still very new to prevention. “ We only like to see a doctor when we are ill. We are averse to making rounds to the hospital or the nearby clinic before we are affected. We find this pointless, and this is where education about the benefits of prevention is needed. We need to make people ware of the positives of prevention.” According to a Wellness in India Survey 2017, conducted by Himalaya and market research firm IMRB, 68 per cent of urban citizens do not practice preventive healthcare measures.

The survey involving 896 urban and semi-urban people belonging to the age group of 20-55 years assessed awareness of wellness and lifestyle issues affecting their overall well-being. The survey was conducted in three cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru revealed lack of self-motivation as well as time constraints as the key barriers to adopting preventive measures. Elucidating on the same,
Amol Naikawadi, Preventive Healthcare Specialist, Indus Health Plus says , ” Preventive healthcare is an important determining factor since prevention means avoiding or slowing the course of a disease by early detection. Early detection of diseases through preventive tests not only saves life but also protects individual and his family from going through immense physical, emotional and financial distress. Though people are moving towards prevention, the out of-pocket expenses incurred by a large section of the population still remains high. Tackling this burden of noncommunicable diseases and high out-of-pocket expenses requires focus on preventive care.” He adds, “People are prone to various diseases based on their sedentary lifestyle and occupational habits. Diseases such as autoimmunea diseases, heart diseases, stroke, cancers, diabetes and others are fortunately preventable. In a developing economy like ours, Indians are more prone to lifestyle diseases.

Talking about the statistics, one in four Indians suffer from cardiac or is a potential cardiac victim and one in ten is a diabetic; whereas cancer is the third largest disease. More than 63 million people in India suffer from cardiovascular disease and 70 million people suffer from diabetes. To lower the numbers of these diseases, preventive healthcare is the answer and both public as well as private sector along with Government should come together in creating a disease-free India.”