title: [Medicine, health and prevention].
abstract: Health problems far exceed the potentialities of medicine as conventionally practised in Switzerland and elsewhere. Only a health policy directed primarily towards prevention will ensure a more harmonious development for all, both individually and collectively. "Passive" preventive medicine (vaccinations, regular check-ups, etc.) has already been shown to be important, and will remain so in the future, but "active" prevention should be employed more generally. In order to motivate the public to assume co-responsibility for its own health, education in human biology and behaviour, customs, risk factors, environment, social conditions and the economic situation of the community should be dispensed at a very early age, as should the elementary measures necessary for maintaining good health. Education on suhc a general scale is only possible by a constant exchange of information and close collaboration between experts in various health-related fields, politicians, laymen, adults and children. Health is not a right as such, but is the result of daily care and a long learning process.
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000193:education; D011315:Preventive Medicine; D012306:Risk; D012572:School Health Services; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
vernacular_title: Médecine, santé et prévention.