This page describes how goals and objectives for Healthy People 2010 will be developed. Check out the Healthy People 2010 Web Page at http://web.health.gov/healthypeople/ .
The proposed vision
for Healthy
People 2010 is Healthy
People in Healthy Communities.
This statement recognizes that health improvement begins at home
with what we do individually, in families, and in communities
to promote mental and physical health. Schools, worksites, community
programs, religious institutions, voluntary organizations, senior
centers, and other sites can deliver
preventive health messages. The vision
incorporates the World Health Organization's Health for All strategy. Read about developing
vision.
The 2010 framework proposes two overarching goals for the Nation:
1) increase years of healthy life, and
2) eliminate health disparities.
The first goal continues the year 2000 goal with an emphasis on increasing quality life years, not just life expectancy. The second goal strengthens the Healthy People 2000 goal of reducing health disparities by calling for the elimination of health disparities. In order to reach the second goal, the year 2010 targets will be identical for all population groups. These goals are aspirational, and their achievement will result in increased health for all people living in the United States and equity of health status.
Four proposed enabling goals accompany the overarching ones. Their purpose is to provide strategies to achieve the overarching goals:
1. promote
healthy behaviors,
2. protect health,
3. assure access to quality health care, and
4. strengthen community prevention.
These basic public health concepts have been integral to the categories of prevention, health promotion, health protection, and clinical preventive services in Healthy People 2000. Using these parameters throughout the 1990's has sharpened the focus on ways to achieve the overarching goals. The third enabling goal has been broadened from "clinical preventive services" to "total health care." The emphasis is on "quality" as well as availability of a range of health services preventive, emergency, and treatment service, as well as long-term care. The new enabling goal on community prevention recognizes the value of population-based activities that promote health.
The proposed focus areas are analogous to, and for the most part use the same names, as Healthy People 2000 priority areas. These are now called focus areas to move away from an implied prioritization. New focus areas have been added in response to changes in health care and public health during the last 10 years. These include impairment and disability and public health infrastructure. Discussions are ongoing about how best to address the disparities of special population groups. Are these focus areas appropriate? Are there others? Is this a useful approach? Should there be special population group focus areas?
The proposed focus areas are arranged under specific overarching or enabling goals to show the connections between the different goals and focus areas. As in Healthy People 2000, a set of objectives will be arranged under each focus area. Development of these objectives will be coordinated by focus area work groups with input from the public comments received during the fall of 1997 and fall of 1998. It is expected that special population groups will be considered as objectives are developed in all focus areas. See page 17 for a detailed discussion of objectives.
The current proposal for Healthy People 2010 calls for two broad types of measurable and developmental objectives. Recommendations for both types of objectives will be taken in the fall 1997. It has been proposed that in order to reach the second overall goal eliminate health disparities the year 2010 targets will be identical for all population groups.
Measurable objectives provide direction for action. They have baselines that use valid and reliable data derived from currently established, nationally representative data systems. These baseline data provide the point from which a 2010 target can be set. Whenever possible, objectives should be measured with national systems that either build on or are comparable with State and local data systems. However, State data are not a prerequisite to developing an objective. Proxy data may be used when national data are not available or where regional data may provide better measurability. When providing an idea for a measurable objective, please include the data source.
Example: Reduce the infant mortality rate by xx percent to no more than xx per 1,000 live births.
(Baseline: 10.1 per 1,000 live births in 1987) (Data Source: National Vital Statistics)
Developmental objectives provide a vision for a desired outcome or health status. Current surveillance systems do not provide data on these objectives. The purpose of developmental objectives is to identify areas that are important and to drive the development of data systems to measure them.
Example: Increase to at least 90 percent the proportion of pregnant women and infants who receive risk-appropriate care. (Baseline data unavailable)
The 2010 objectives should be useful to national, State and local agencies as well as to the private sector and the general public. In order to be used in the Healthy People 2010 framework, the objectives must have certain attributes:
The result to be achieved should be important and understandable to a broad audience and relate to the Healthy People 2010 goals and focus areas.
Source: http://web.health.gov/healthypeople/Guide/guide2.htm
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