Question

A nurse is preparing an educational program about influenza for a group of community health nurses. Which of the following is an example of tertiary prevention?

1) Offer classes to elementary school teachers about handwashing.
2) Provide information to occupational RNs about the reasons for employees to not come to work.
3) Administer antiviral medications within 48 hours to clients who have manifestations of influenza.
4) Provide immunizations at long-term care facilities.

Answer 1

Administering antiviral medications to clients with influenza symptoms represents tertiary prevention. It aims to reduce the severity of the disease after onset, which differs from primary prevention methods like vaccination.

Step-by-step explanation:

An example of tertiary prevention for influenza would be to administer antiviral medications within 48 hours to clients who have manifestations of influenza. Tertiary prevention involves actions taken to reduce the severity and progression of a disease after symptoms have appeared. Vaccinations, on the other hand, represent primary prevention as they aim to prevent illness before it occurs, and therefore, providing immunizations would be an example of primary prevention, not tertiary.

Antiviral medications like oseltamivir (Tamiflu), zanamivir (Relenza), and peramivir (Rapivab) target influenza viruses and can shorten the course of the disease. These neuraminidase inhibitors impair the ability of the virus to exit infected host cells, thus decreasing symptoms and limiting the spread of the virus.