Quaternary Prevention for the humanization of Primary Health Care

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.2012363416426

Abstract

We discuss the relationship between the concept and the practice of quaternary prevention and humanization in Brazilian
Primary Health Care (PHC), focused in individual clinical care. Some considerations are proposed on the present moment
of biomedical care in general and in Brazilian PHC, for contextualizing the meaning of the concept of quaternary prevention.
We indicate the incompleteness of the introduction of Brazilian UHS (Unified Health System) and PHC, as well as the
quality, many times doubtful, of their care practices, historically degraded and dehumanized, which makes highly relevant
quaternary prevention and humanization of care. We point to the main meaning of the concept of quaternary prevention,
which is to prevent hypermedicalization of care and to avoid unnecessary interventions, reducing damages, by means of
techniques and qualified and personalized care practices. This implements inside professional practices the ethical precept
“first, do no harm”, ever repeated in medical discourse. We point to some characteristics of quaternary prevention with
an emphasis on its practice, as well as to its imbrications to humanization of care and its relationship to dealing to social
medicalization in professional practices, which historically has been favoring uncritically excessive medicalization; and
some associated challenges, as well as potentialities and emergent practical ramifications, still only insinuated, such as
the use of non-biomedical care resources in quaternary prevention, exemplifying the productivity of this concept and its
contribution for the humanization of care in PHC.