HHS Updates Healthy People Initiative, Issues Data Collection Targets
During the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association on Monday, HHS announced the Leading Health Indicators for the Healthy People 2020 campaign, National Journal reports.
The list of metrics to track public health goals is updated once per decade.
Oral health, social determinants -- such as education, income, and race -- and maternal, infant and child health were added to the nine existing categories of Leading Health Indicators.
Meanwhile, metrics to track abstinence among young people, which were included in the 10 indicators for 2010, were dropped from the list for 2020.
The list of indicators for 2020 also includes:
- Access;
- Clinical preventive services;
- Environmental quality;
- Injury and violence;
- Mental health;
- Nutrition;
- Physical activity and obesity;
- Reproductive and sexual health; and
- Substance use disorders and tobacco.
HHS Assistant Secretary Howard Koh said the list reflects "a new dimension right now in public health, ... a paradigm shift with respect to social determinants" (Quinton, National Journal, 10/31).
HHS Announces New Survey Standards
In related news, HHS officials on Monday released final survey standards in an effort to reduce health care disparities (Baker, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 10/31).
The standards will provide more specific demographic data than previously collected on race, ethnicity, sex, primary language and disability status (Daly, Modern Healthcare, 10/31).
The federal health reform law required HHS to release new standards, which agency officials said "will help identify the significant health differences that often exist between and within ethnic groups, particularly among Asian, Hispanic/Latino and Pacific Islander populations" (CQ HealthBeat, 10/31).
Koh noted that the new surveys will allow respondents to indicate that they are Korean-American or Japanese-American rather than just as Asian (Modern Healthcare, 10/31). The standards went into effect on Monday (CQ HealthBeat, 10/31).
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