By: Conor O’Malley
Healthy People 2020 was introduced from George Washington University (GW) last year in an attempt to make the United States a more healthy country. Similar to their Healthy People 2010, the program is a 10-year objective to get the American people more aware of what they are eating, what they should be eating, and the portions that they should aim for.
Dr. Howard Koh, the Assistant Secretary for Health, attended the launch of the program at GW and made a speech about his optimistic outlook for the program. “Today we stand as one community, and one nation, to celebrate a unity of purpose, that is represented by Healthy People 2020.”
This will now the be the third time this type of program is going into effect. Dr. Koh stated that since 1980 the program has mobilized the best public health talent, and to make a roadmap for the nation. Coronary heart disease, AIDS, stroke, cancer, childhood vaccinations are only some of the areas where Dr. Koh has said that the program has helped improve upon, from things like general awareness to fundrasing and prevention.
In addition to presenting an optimistic ideals and goals, the program makes sure that people are aware of the dangers and realities of malnutrition and lack of exercise. Hoping to provide “20/20” vision on the subjects, Dr. Koh says the program has four major goals:
1.) Eliminate preventable disease and premature death,
2.) Achieve true health equity and eliminate disparities,
3.) To promote healthy development across the life stages,
4.) Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all.
Though making “the healthy choice, the easy choice” may not be as easy as they predict it may be. They see the health of an individual as practically the same as that of their community, which is therefore the health of the communities is reflective of the overall nation. This is an attempt to establish the “all for one and one for all” mentality.
Koh continues to show the active involvement of other departments within the federal government as a way of hoping to give others incentives to join in on the new program.
These departments include:
-Department of Agriculture, -Department of Transportation,
-Department of Education, -Department of Veterans Affairs,
-Department of Housing, -Environmental Protection Agency
Louise Lex, Ph.D. from the Iowa Department of Public health states, “It needs to be an effort on the part of the community, the entire community, the business community, the community of educators… it needs to be a collective effort.”
Susan Wozenski, M.P.H., J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Nursing says that in the Healthy People 2020 that they are asking practitioners to step back and look at situations in the upstream way of thinking as to how to make the United States’ population more healthy.
The program focus’ on nutrition, exercise, and the distribution of important information on diseases. In addition the program aims to identify obesity in both adults and children and if currently in a movement to help change the meals provided in schools.
Among their supporters, one can find many universities, both public and private (Johns Hopkins, George Washington, University of Maryland, etc..). Also all the the branches of the military, U.S. Army, Navy, Air-force, Coast Guard, and even the USS Abraham Lincoln, have put in their name in supporting the program.
For more information on the program, visit healthypeople.gov
Policy Interns 