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Introduction
Public health is the basis of a nation’s sustainable development. It was indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO) which believed “health promotion is a key investment” (1997). It is a significant resource to have good health, which enables individuals for social, personal, and economic development (WHO, 1986). Healthy People initiative sets 10-year country-wide objectives for enhancing the health of all Americans and to address the current challenges in public health and provide support on various matters in the context of health issues, (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014). It is a national priority to assure a healthy living for all citizens.
Healthy People 2020
Healthy People has been functioning for over three decades now. It has been measuring progress to encourage and educate individuals to make right health decisions, motivate communities and sectors to collaborate, and assess the benefits of prevention activities (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014). Healthy People 2020 is the continuation of this tradition of 10-year goals. It started in 2010, with attempts to set national priorities on health improvement, provide sufficient information on the determinants of health, diseases, and disabilities, and unite separate sectors to promote relevant policies.
Healthy People initiative has an official website, healthypeople.gov, with an abundance of resources on current issues, current objectives, and future vision. It is a Federal Government website and is managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (HHS, 2018). This resource is updated regularly to reflect the progress and to provide information on future objectives that are going to be part of Healthy People 2030.
Leading Health Indicators
Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) is a smaller, yet with highest priorities, set of objectives of Healthy People 2020. LHIs comprise the most critical health issues and ways of adequately addressing them (HHS, 2016). They are also a way of tracking progress and assessing public health (HHS, 2016). More information on LHIs can be obtained under the “Leading Health Indicators” section of the official website of Healthy People.
Progress toward each LHI can be tracked on an interactive infographic. According to the information presented, there has been substantial progress in reaching the overall goal, but certain areas have worsened, thus stimulating a significant interest. The situation around adolescents with a major depressive episode in the past 12 months and suicides does not give much space for optimism (HHS, 2019). Also, there has been almost no increase in the percentage of the population that has access to a usual primary care provider (HHS, 2019). Development of healthy communities could be the potential solution for all problems associated with public health (Frumkin, 2016). Correlation between access to health services and mental disorders should be thoroughly researched.
The number of suicides is a principal concern among other LHIs. Suicides are the second leading cause of deaths among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2019). Healthy People 2020 sets an objective of decreasing the number of suicides to 10.2 occurrences per 100,000 people (HHS, 2019). HHS states this goal as a 10 percent improvement from the 2007 baseline (2019). The number of suicides, however, has been steadily rising for all age groups since 2008 (Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2019). In 2013, HHS measured a rise to 12.6 suicides per 100,000 people, which is a 10 percent regression (2019). Causes should be carefully studied to present a better prevention mechanism.
Conclusion
Healthy People is an empowering initiative and a moving force towards a healthier nation. With clear and measurable objectives, the United States will be able to develop the required tools and strategies to cope with the current challenges in individual and public health. One way of managing the problems is through the development of healthy communities. Despite some of the vital objectives not being met, Healthy People still should be an emphasized area for additional research and funding.
References
Frumkin, H. (2016). Healthy community design[Video file]. Web.
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2014). What is Healthy People [Video file]? Web.
Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (2019). Suicide by Age. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Determinants of health. Healthy People 2020. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016). Healthy People 2020: Leading Health Indicators. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). Midcourse Review: Progress Made toward Targets for Leading Health Indicators. Web.
World Health Organization. (1997). The Jakarta Declaration on Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century. Web.
World Health Organization. (1986). Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Web.
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