A nurse working in a community health center is focusing on illness prevention for a group of young adults. Which action reflects primary prevention?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Primary prevention targets illness before it strikes, ideal for young adults shaping lifelong habits. Educating about smoking risks cancer, lung damage aims to deter uptake or prompt quitting, a modifiable behavior with huge impact, as smoking's a top preventable death cause. Screening for STIs is secondary, catching disease early, not stopping it. Referring depression cases or planning asthma care is tertiary, managing conditions, not preventing onset. Smoking education fits primary prevention's proactive core studies show early awareness cuts initiation rates perfect for a community setting where young adults face peer pressures. Nursing uses this to shift trajectories, reducing chronic illness odds through informed choice, a powerful, scalable action for this age group's health future.