Secondary prevention aims to reduce the impact of a disease or injury that has already occurred. This is done by detecting and treating disease or injury as soon as possible to halt or slow its progress, encouraging personal strategies to prevent reinjury or recurrence, and implementing programs to return people to their original health and function to prevent long-term problems. Examples include:
- regular exams and screening tests to detect disease in its earliest stages (e.g., mammograms to detect breast cancer)
- daily, low-dose aspirins and/or diet and exercise programs to prevent further heart attacks or strokes
- suitably modified work so injured or ill workers can return safely to their jobs.