Healthy People 2010 is a set of national health goals set in the 1990s by groups of scientists. It outlines disease prevention goals and includes twenty-eight health-promoting objectives for the nation to acheive by 2010. It also describes the ten current major health concerns for the United States. The two main goals of Healthy People 2010 are to increase quality and years of life and to eliminate health disparities in the population.
Goal One: To Increase Quality and Years of Life
Life expectancy: The average number of years that people are expected to live. LIfe expectancy today is around seventy-eight years in the United States and about sixty-six years worldwide. However, at least eighteen countries with a population of above one million people have a higher life expectancy than the United States.
Quality of life: Includes physical and mental well-being and the ways people react to their environment. Quality of life is difficult to measure, but a Healthy People 2010 report found that too many people reported having days of less than optimal health. (As to how many is too many, what is less than optimal health, and what really is the significance of this statistic, I don't know.) Healthy People 2010 hopes to help people become more knowledgeable and more motivated about the choices they can make to improve their health.
Goal Two: To Eliminate Health Disparities in the Population
Health disparities: Measurable differences in oppurtunities for optimal health in the United States. These can be caused by gender, race, ethnicity, education, income, disability, sexual orientation, and whether a person lives in a rural or urban area. Healthy People 2010 promotes reducing such disparities by helping people access health information and care.
Top Ten Health Concerns
Leading health indicators: The ten national health concerns that will be evaluated. The ten leading health indicators are: physical activity, overweight and obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, responsible sexual behavior, mental health, injury and violence, environmental quality, immunization, and access to health care. Responsible sexual behavior is important because unprotected sex can spread STDs and bring about unplanned pregnacies.
