Healthy People 2020 Mission Statement

The Healthy People 2020 mission statement:

To improve health through strengthening policy and practice, Healthy People will:

• Identify nationwide health improvements priorities;

• Increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health, disease, and disability and the opportunities for progress;

• Provide measurable objectives and goals that can be used at the national, state, and local levels;

• Engage multiple sectors to take actions that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge;

• Identify critical research and data collection needs. (Healthy People, 2017)

The Healthy People 2020 mission statement outlines how the program hopes to improve health through strengthening policies and enhancing practice across the United States. The program identified 26 objectives to focus on as important health issues. As of 2014, data shows that 14 out of the 26 indicators have met their target or shown improvement (Healthy People, 2017). The four objectives that were shown to met or exceed the target set are listed below.

• Air Index exceeding 100 (Target 1.980 – Actual 1.252)

•

The program has also done a great job highlighting the importance of decreasing infant mortality rates and the number of preterm deliveries. Hence, both of these numbers decreased as well. Healthy People 2020 has made a big impacted on the awareness of preventive care specifically in the area of immunizations, screening for colon cancer, and management of hypertension (Healthy People, 2017). The program provides comprehensive national goals and objectives for improving the health of all Americans over a ten-year period. Each year the progress of each indicator is