A new concept in protective healthcare: Quinary prevention

Quinary Prevention; It is a set of policies, conditions, actions and measures aimed at reducing the risks associated with disseminating inappropriate health-related information and minimizing the impact of such misinformation on the progression or development of diseases. Quinary Prevention is under the multi-layered responsibility of health professionals, professional organizations and legislators. Legislators should prepare laws/regulations to prevent and deter the spread of health-related misinformation. Health service providers should assume the primary responsibility of Quinary Prevention, constantly update themselves in the discipline they choose, disseminate correct information and increase health literacy, inform the public through professional organizations or sites where relevant experts are the controllers, and report those who share false information to the necessary authorities. The public should not blindly believe every information conveyed through social media and should consult a healthcare professional. In social media, the impact of which is increasing day by day, the legal infrastructure should be prepared for an accurate information presentation by taking the necessary precautions, and health service providers, who are experts in their work, should contribute to the health literacy of the public by providing information on these platforms. Family physicians, who provide preventive and curative health services together, must know the protection steps within the scope of preventive medicine and update themselves in this regard. In this context, 'Quinary Prevention', the newest preventive care steps, was mentioned to guide health service providers, especially family physicians.