Streimann Karin, Vilms Triin, Erm Ruth, Pärna Kersti, Kutsar Dagmar, Uusberg Andero, Kiive Evelyn, Sisask Merike, Vaask Sirje, Holmar Jana, Lubi Kadi, Ernits Ülle, Varik Merle, Laisaar Kaja-Triin
National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia.
Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
J Prev (2022). 2025 Jun 10. doi: 10.1007/s10935-025-00858-7.
Prevention science is interdisciplinary, drawing upon multiple fields of research and practice to develop integrated knowledge. A challenge facing the field is the proliferation of different terms with the same meaning, and of terms with different meanings. This can create confusion in communication, affect evaluation standards, and ultimately also affect the implementation of preventive interventions. Contributing to the development of evidence standards for preventive interventions, this article describes the process and results of interdisciplinary prevention terminology development in Estonia.
Following the Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, different co-design tools were used during a four-year process to help understand terminological needs, generate ideas, draw concept maps, and test examples of definitions in different target groups.
Thirty-five terms were tested, refined, and published. Six of these represent the main concepts relevant to prevention and intervention evaluation: vulnerability, prevention, preventive intervention, well-being, process evaluation, and impact evaluation. Several candidate terms were omitted for being confusing, ambiguous, or misunderstood in terms of the type or mechanism of intervention, the quality of evidence, or the quality of practice.
Collaborative and participatory methods can be used to bridge the divide in language and to help pursue consensus definitions. Shared understanding is needed both nationally and internationally between disciplines, sectors, implementation levels, and professions, as the involved parties include policymakers, researchers, innovators, and practitioners in the domains of healthcare and public health, education, safety, social work and welfare, justice, and culture. The development of an interdisciplinary prevention glossary described in this paper was novel in its approach and has the potential to support successful continuing interdisciplinary collaboration in the prevention field.
预防科学是跨学科的，它借鉴多个研究和实践领域的知识来形成综合知识体系。该领域面临的一个挑战是存在大量同义不同词以及一词多义的情况。这可能导致沟通混乱，影响评估标准，并最终影响预防性干预措施的实施。为推动预防性干预措施证据标准的发展，本文描述了爱沙尼亚跨学科预防术语制定的过程和成果。
遵循参与式行动研究（PAR）方法，在为期四年的过程中使用了不同的协同设计工具，以帮助了解术语需求、产生想法、绘制概念图并在不同目标群体中测试定义示例。
对35个术语进行了测试、完善并发布。其中六个代表了与预防和干预评估相关的主要概念：易感性、预防、预防性干预、福祉、过程评估和影响评估。一些候选术语因在干预类型或机制、证据质量或实践质量方面令人困惑、含混不清或容易误解而被舍弃。
协作性和参与性方法可用于弥合语言鸿沟，有助于寻求共识定义。国家和国际层面的不同学科、部门、实施层面和专业之间都需要达成共同理解，因为参与方包括医疗保健和公共卫生、教育、安全、社会工作与福利、司法和文化等领域的政策制定者、研究人员、创新者和从业者。本文所述的跨学科预防术语表的制定方法新颖，有潜力支持预防领域成功开展持续的跨学科合作。
