Which statement best distinguishes secondary prevention from tertiary prevention?

• A. Secondary prevention involves rehab after disability; tertiary is screening for risk factors
• B. Secondary applies to healthy individuals; tertiary applies to those at risk
• C. Secondary prevention aims to prevent disease before it starts; tertiary minimizes effects after disability occurs
• D. Secondary is curative; tertiary is palliative

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is the timing and goal of prevention types. Secondary prevention focuses on catching disease early and intervening to stop it from progressing, often through screening and early treatment. Tertiary prevention aims to reduce the damage and functional loss once a disease is already established, by minimizing complications and promoting rehabilitation.

The best answer reflects this contrast: it links secondary prevention with preventing further effects after a disease is identified and treated early, and it ties tertiary prevention to minimizing the consequences after disability has occurred. While the statement mentions preventing disease before it starts for secondary prevention (which is actually the domain of primary prevention), the portion about reducing effects after disability aligns with tertiary prevention and captures the key distinction between the two stages.