disparities persist across the population.
He also notes that obesity remains an
important challenge to monitor closely
and data must be a priority to continue
measuring what is working.
It is interesting to note that Healthy
People 2020 (HP 2020) appears to show a
shift towards a more positive approach to
health goals. In addition to eliminating
disparities and improving life span (primarily through reducing disease), the HP
2020 initiative has added the goal to
create social and physical environments
that promote good health (spa, anyone?)
and the promotion of quality of life,
health development and health behaviors
across the lifespan, which sounds like a
more preventative and positive approach
to wellness. ■
U.S. has increased by a year and the life
expectancy and quality of life have
improved for people over 65.
But the average African-American still
lives five years fewer than the average
Caucasian, a disparity rate that has not
moved in the past decade. In fact, across
a variety of health measurements, some of
which have improved (such as cancer
mortality, coronary heart disease, smoking
and blood pressure control) and some of
which have worsened (such as adult and
child obesity). Differential rates of disease
across different racial categories persist.
The key takeaways from Healthy
People 2010, according to Edward J.
Sondik, the Director of the National
Center for Health Statistics, is that
progress is being made on the major goals
of life quality and expectancy, but health
REFERENCES:
Howard Koh, MD MPH, Assistant Secretary for Health
Edward J. Sondik, PhD, Director, National Center for
Health Statistics
Jewel Mullen, MD, MPH, MPA, Commissioner,
Connecticut Department of Public Health
RESOURCE:
The image for this article is from a PowerPoint slide
in the webinar, “Health in the US—A Review of the
21st Century” featuring all mentioned references,
and where Dr. Sondik reported the results from
Healthy People 2010.
BE PART OF HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020
1. Follow @gohealthypeople on Twitter.
2. Subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter on healthypeople.gov.
3. Look for info on the website for the MAP-IT program to learn how to
implement HealthyPeople2020 in your own community.
4. Network with other health professionals in your community.
5. Think about how your spa can make an impact on the leading health
indicators.
May 2012
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