Healthy People 2020: Social Determinants of Health

Healthy People, by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. For 3 decades, Healthy People has established benchmarks and monitored progress over time in order to:

• Encourage collaborations across communities and sectors.
• Empower individuals toward making informed health decisions.
• Measure the impact of prevention activities.

 

 

In 2010, Healthy People launched Healthy People 2020, a 10-year agenda for improving the Nation’s health. It strives to:

• Identify nationwide health improvement 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 are applicable at the national, State, and local levels.
• Engage multiple sectors to take actions to strengthen policies and improve practices that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge.
• Identify critical research, evaluation, and data collection needs.

 

A key objective of Healthy People 2020 is highlighting the importance of addressing the social determinants of health by including “Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all” as one of the four overarching goals for the decade. Click through for their overview and objectives on the social determinants of health.

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