Overview
“Intervention” in a general medical context has been used to refer to any treatment used to address the natural course of a disease.
In preventative medicine, interventions are generally categorized as:
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primary interventions that prevent a disease before it occurs, like a vaccine
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secondary interventions that use early detection to address a disease at it’s earliest stages
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tertiary interventions that stop or delay the worsening of an established disease
The term “intervention” has also been popularized to refer to a gathering of loved ones who (compassionately) confront an individual about their behaviors in a way that might promote a desire to change.
History and Context
Vernon Johnson, an Episcopal priest in recovery, proposed a model of intervention through his book I’ll Quit Tomorrow in 1973 where friends and family could confront a loved one struggling with substance use to induce something of a controlled crisis that might inspire change. Johnson observed that most people struggling with addiction didn’t attempt to quit until some kind of negative consequence disrupted their patterns, so a gentle confrontation led by loved ones could be called an intervention that addresses the disease of addiction. Around the 1980s, public health researchers introduced the concept of Brief Interventions, in which a medical professional might approach a patient with a brief ~15 minute conversation about their substance use patterns during routine visits or ER trips that flag high-risk behaviors. The Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment model is based on using a standardized assessment, having a brief conversation based on motivational interviewing concepts, and referring to specialized treatment programs.