Final answer:
A community/public health nurse teaching a generally healthy group of elders about fall risks is implementing primary prevention, where the goal is to avert the occurrence of falls through education and risk modification before any falls happen. Option a is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a community/public health nurse is teaching a generally healthy group of elders about fall risks, the level of prevention being implemented is known as primary prevention. Primary prevention aims to prevent disease or injury before it ever occurs.
This is done by preventing exposures to hazards that cause disease or injury, altering unhealthy or unsafe behaviors that can lead to disease or injury, and increasing resistance to disease or injury should exposure occur. In the context of fall risks in elders, the nurse's actions are focused on imparting knowledge and skills to reduce the incidence of falls, which fits the definition of primary prevention.
Secondary prevention, on the other hand, involves efforts to detect a disease early and prevent it from getting worse, while tertiary prevention involves the treatment of an ongoing illness or injury to improve recovery and prevent further deterioration. This level of prevention is considered primary because it aims to address the root causes and risk factors of falls, rather than addressing the consequences or complications that may arise from a fall.