ABSTRACT
Each decade since 1979, the Healthy People initiative establishes the national prevention agenda and provides the foundation for disease prevention and health promotion policies and programs. Law and policy have been included in Healthy People objectives from the start, but not integrated into the overall initiative as well as possible to potentially leverage change to meet Healthy People targets and goals. This article provides background on the Healthy People initiative and its use among various stakeholder groups, describes the work of a project aiming to better integrate law and policy into this initiative, and discusses the development of Healthy People 2030 - the next iteration of health goals for the nation. Lessons from the preliminary stages of developing Healthy People by the HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee (Committee) on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2030 and a Federal Interagency Workgroup will be included. Efforts by the Committee focused on the role of law and policy as determinants of health and valuable resources around health equity are also shared. Finally, the article discusses ways that law and policy can potentially be tools to help meet Healthy People targets and to attain national health goals.
Subject(s)
Health Policy , Healthy People Programs/legislation & jurisprudence , Healthy People Programs/organization & administration , Public Health , Advisory Committees , Healthy People Programs/history , Healthy People Programs/trends , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , United States , United States Dept. of Health and Human ServicesSubject(s)
Global Health , Health Care Reform/history , Health Policy/history , Health Priorities/history , Human Rights/history , Social Justice/history , Social Responsibility , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Healthy People Programs/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Primary Health Care/history , Public Health/historySubject(s)
Global Health , Health Care Reform/history , Health Policy/history , Health Priorities/history , Human Rights/history , Social Justice/history , Social Responsibility , Developed Countries , Developing Countries , Healthy People Programs/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , Primary Health Care/history , Public Health/historySubject(s)
Healthy People Programs , Female , Genetic Counseling , Healthy People Programs/history , History, 21st Century , Humans , Male , Mass Screening , Risk Factors , South DakotaSubject(s)
Goals , Healthy People Programs/history , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , United StatesSubject(s)
Heart Diseases/prevention & control , Stroke/prevention & control , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. , Healthy People Programs/history , Healthy People Programs/organization & administration , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Humans , National Health Programs/history , National Health Programs/legislation & jurisprudence , National Health Programs/organization & administration , United StatesABSTRACT
This account of the events leading up to the Alma-Ata Conference in September 1978 (covering the years 1970 to 1978) is based on the author's recollections and his recent research of World Health Organization documents. The author builds his story around four themes: why the Soviets, in particular, wanted the conference; why the new WHO director-general did not; the time and energy lost by holding the conference; and what might have happened if it had not been held. The story involves not only people and their political and health ideologies but also reflections on the continuing question of how best to improve the health of commuunities. The account reveals how Alna-Ata constrained attempts by the new leadership of WHO to transform the way in which the organization fulfilled its international health responsibilities.
