“A drink is fine; three glasses, hello messes! “, ” Antibiotics are not automatic ! “, etc. These prevention campaigns have left their mark. Forty years later, the subject is more of a priority than ever.
Jean-Martin Cohen-Solal, a doctor and former director general of Mutualité Française, worked on some of these campaigns. He will participate in the first edition of Health Dialogues, dedicated to prevention, an event organized by Villa M, in partnership with Le Point, on April 13 and 14, 2023 in Paris.
The Point: You have been involved in some of the most impactful prevention campaigns of decades. What conclusion can you make today? Should prevention be more of a priority?
Dr. Jean-Martin Cohen-Solal: What I have noticed for forty years is this lingering feeling that we are not doing enough prevention, that it must finally be made a priority. However, since the 1980s, all political programs, right and left, have made it a priority in health to develop prevention and health education. Of course, there is still a lot to do and we don’t have a real culture of prevention in France, unlike other countries, particularly Anglo-Saxon ones, but progress has been made and mentalities have changed a lot.
Can you give us some examples?
There was a time when smoking was the norm, including in public places, such as planes, trains or meeting rooms. If the smoke bothered you, it was up to you to get out. Today, it’s the opposite, people go out to smoke. Same for alcohol. The bottle of wine at lunch was replaced by a simple glass, and again. We can also mention the campaign “Antibiotics are not automatic”, which helped both patients and doctors, by legitimizing doctors’ refusal to prescribe them when it was not necessary.
Now that these campaigns have caught on, so it’s on the ground that more needs to be done?
Exactly. National campaigns alert, but do not allow action if nothing is done. Asking people to move more, for example, means setting up fitness trails in cities or gyms in companies. We need to support people in the field so that they themselves become actors in their prevention, but also to fight against inequalities, which are particularly important in the field of prevention.
It should also be noted that it was long thought that it was up to doctors to do prevention. However, they are above all trained for care, and not for prevention. On the other hand, prevention goes far beyond the field of medicine. The environment, housing, nutrition are all factors that influence our health. And some professions, like nurses or pharmacists, are much better suited for this job.
Furthermore, prevention may seem contradictory to freedom. To foster a culture of prevention, it is essential not to stigmatize and show the long-term risks, but, on the contrary, to highlight the immediate benefits of modifying certain behaviors at all ages, including in school with young people.
The new generations have a role to play, in particular as prescribers for parents, and are generally much more apt to accept standards. We see this for example with today’s pregnant women, who accept much more easily to follow strict recommendations or even prohibitions during their pregnancy.
Find the event the Health Dialogues on April 13 and 14, 2023 Villa M-Paris. This first edition has the theme “Prevention, at all costs”. Free subscription to Live.