NATIONAL
AGENDA |
Healthy
People 2010: Health for a New Decade Karen Swedersky |
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Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion
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Healthy People 2010 is a national initiative to improve the health of all Americans through prevention and education. Building on two decades of preventive work, Healthy People 2010 builds on the Healthy People 2000 initiative and the 1980s Surgeon General’s Report Healthy People. Like its predecessors, Healthy People 2010 identifies the most significant preventable threats to health, including occupational health and safety, and targets specific objectives for the next decade. It will serve as a national action agenda for the beginning of the 21st century. Healthy People 2010 was developed by the Healthy People Consortium, an alliance of 350 national organizations and 300 state health and environmental agencies, who participated in Healthy People 2000. In addition, the Secretary’s Council on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention provides advice and commentary to the Department of Health and Human Services. A Healthy People Business Advisory Council, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Partnership for Prevention, also affords business and industry an opportunity to participate in the formulation and execution of the Healthy People 2010 objectives. Fundamentally, the Healthy People initiatives provide a new national plan at the beginning of each decade that diverse groups can utilize to improve health in America. The primary objectives for Healthy People 2010 are:
"To encourage groups to integrate Healthy People into current programs, special events, publications, and meetings, all Healthy People materials are in the public domain. Healthy People is used by healthy community coalitions. Businesses use the framework to guide worksite health promotion activities as well as community initiatives. Schools and colleges undertake activities to further the health of children, adolescents, and young adults. By selecting among the national objectives, individuals and organizations can build an agenda for community health improvement and monitor results."1 Several of these focus areas directly or indirectly support the fundamental mission and delivery of services of the typical occupational health program. The twenty-eight focus areas are listed on page 20. Substantial strides have been made in workplace safety and health, and access to quality occupational health providers has increased over the last decade. As we all know, more can be done and occupational health providers are the natural conduits to achieving many of the Healthy People 2010 objectives for Occupational Health and Safety. Through education, consulting, building of trusted relationships, and delivery of quality services, occupational health providers have laid the foundation for the prevention and minimization of work-related deaths, illness, and injury over the last two decades. With continued focus on our fundamental mission and purpose, we provide employers and employees alike with an ally in meeting workplace health and safety goals for the first decade of the new millennium. Most states have developed their own Healthy People plans that embody the national 2010 focus areas and objectives. Local and state groups, coalitions, businesses, and providers are all encouraged to integrate Healthy People 2010 into their programs, promotions, special events, and services. By selecting from the national objectives, these groups can build an agenda for community and workplace health improvements and monitor their results, while contributing to the overall national objectives of a healthier America by the year 2010. For more information on how your organization or corporate customers can benefit from or work in partnership with Healthy People 2010 please contact:
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