E-Health Prevention Program

The Healthy People 2020 organization is generates objectives that are science-based up to ten years to improve the health of Americans (). The Healthy People 2020 monitors the American’s health so that they can encourage collaboration amongst communities, inspire individuals to take action in their health decisions, and determine the results of prevention actions (). The overall goal of the Healthy People 2020 organization is, “attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death” (para. 5). The Healthy People 2020 website has several topics and objectives to gain knowledge of. Two of the topics that will be discussed are diabetes, heart disease and stroke, as well as each topics risk factors in relation to its objectives.

The Healthy People 2020 Agenda was launched on December 2, 2010, with the aims of improving the America’s health by 2020. The agenda provides objectives that are science-based to enable improve the health of the Americans and it has involved diverse groups and organizations from all over the country. One of the visions set in the agenda is a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. The other important part is the mission which entails identification of nationwide health improvement priorities and many others. I agree with this agenda because America lags far behind regarding health indices when compared to its peers such as Australia and Canada. The Agenda addresses the primary health concerns of the

In 2010, Healthy People 2020 was started by the Department of Human Health Services. Health programs and research topics were instituted to help Americans live healthier and longer lives (CDC, 2014). The 42 topics presented are all very important in maintaining the goals set by Healthy People 2020. If these programs were to be cut or budget restraints imposed on them, the impact would be felt by all Americans. There would be more unhealthy people, preventable chronic diseases would be more prevalent, and education and health associated programs would be

The publics idea of health has evolved over the decades, similar to fashion in that it is continuously morphing and even trends have resurrected with new twists. Recent developments have seen widespread awareness of the importance of regular exercise and many benefits of a balanced diet. Yet despite the plethora of health and fitness methods and resources, the general population has never been so physically sedentary and out of shape. According to the national center for health statistics, America life expectancy has declined despite advances in the fitness industry, concerns over secondary conditions such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes has created an urgency of public health officials as they try to mandate new strategies to fight this national epidemic.

Healthy People 2020 is a very valuable online educational resource that was designed to educate and empower society to identify, manage, and prevent many diseases and disabilities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014a). In attempt to improve the amount of Americans suffering from preventable diseases, on December 2, 2010 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services “unveiled Healthy People 2020, the nation’s new 10-year goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010, para. 1).

Health in the United States has become a serious issue. With about six in every 10 people suffering from either being overweight or obese in addition to other unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, heavy drinking or lack of exercise. These lifestyle choices have caused a number of chronic illnesses to skyrocket to high rates. “These chronic conditions have become a major burden, as they lead to decreased quality of life, premature death and disability, and increased health care cost” (pg xiii). What the workplace is trying to do is promote a healthier lifestyle for the employee. Some reasons for doing so is that the employer cares about the well being of their employee so that they can be more productive and to help reduce the risk of getting a chronic disease. Since these chronic diseases are becoming more life threatening and the cost of health care is increasing the employers are implementing health promotion and disease prevention strategies also known as workplace wellness programs. “Workplace wellness takes advantages of employers’ access to employees at an age when interventions can still change their long-term health trajectory. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act supports this trend with several provisions regarding health promotion and also mandated this study” (pg xiii).

There is a definite need for a solution to the rising healthcare costs. This increase has caused people to be less willing to seek out medical care for the fear of not being able to afford it. This in turn causes people to become even unhealthier. Santa Clara University shows they agree when they say, “Whether the cause is smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, lack of exercise, failure to use seat-belts, or overexposure to the sun, preventable health care costs are the first concern of many U.S. health care critics.” There has been an explosion of accidents, deaths, diseases, and disabilities that have risen due to behaviors that could have been prevented. This surge in negative effects has alerted people nationwide. They are now trying to figure out what the best solution would be. Some may say that this issue does not affect them or that it is not “a big deal”. However, Santa Clara University can prove that wrong when they said, “What motivates their criticism is overwhelming evidence that individuals with

It is estimated that tobacco use, inactivity, and poor nutrition cause 70% of all chronic diseases. These diseases account for approximately 75% of all medical costs in the United States, furthermore they account for 83% of all Medicaid costs and

What if as a society we began to focus more on preventing chronic disease rather than treating them after onset? This is the question that has driven my interest in public health. My first true introduction to public health came in an Epidemiology class I took my junior year at Portland State University. It became apparent to me that chronic diseases are now our worlds biggest burden, particularly cardiovascular disease and cancer, and that the health of our world against these diseases begins with prevention. I began my undergraduate career as a Viticulture and Enology major. I loved the idea of spending my days in a vineyard, nurturing grapes to maturity and then creating a final product that was entirely different from its humble beginning.

Chronic diseases are an epidemic that must be stopped. Chronic diseases are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths each year. By 2025, 49% of Americans will be affected by a chronic disease. Our country is running rampant with chronic disease that can not only be better controlled but prevented. Per the partnership to fight Chronic Disease, “These diseases are often preventable, and frequently manageable through early detection, improved diet, exercise, and treatment therapy.” (the growing crisis of chronic disease in the United States). In fact, a common misconception is that as a society what we fail to comprehend, that by eliminating or reducing the causes associated with the disease, we would then be eliminating the

Thorpe and Philyaw (2012) state that over the past decade there has been a steady rise in obesity-related chronic conditions. Sadly today, chronic conditions are the most common of all health problems in the United States and the most preventable (Walker & Norbeck, 2013). Shockingly, according to Walker and Norbeck (2013), people with three or more chronic diseases account for 20% of all healthcare spending in the United States. One positive result of the increased expenditures are the improved patient outcomes (Thorpe & Philyaw, 2012). These are a direct result from the technological advances in chronic disease screening (Thorpe & Philyaw, 2012). Thorpe and Philyaw (2013) argue that finding evidence-based interventions is the key to reversing and preventing the rising trend in obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases. “Through such efforts, we can help create a more sustainable health care system that will benefit both Americans today and future generations as well” (Thorpe & Philyaw, 2012, p.

‘Preventative health’ is big time. Efforts to reduce smoking rates, to decrease breast cancer, or to prevent AIDS/HIV are widely supported. Prevention is an area where scientists, clinicians, and policymakers are in strong agreement: interventions improve health and save society billions of dollars.

The “American Board of Preventive Medicine,” states that preventive medicine has been around the U.S for 60 years, but only .08 percent is comprised of the workforce. Funding is limited and medical centers are only contributing a fraction of dollars to preventive medicine compared to acute care. The goal of preventive medicine is to educate citizens about diseases, the causes of the diseases, and provide information on how to prevent them. Talking about the leading causes of deaths cancer, heart disease, and lung disease that contribute to the prevention of those diseases. The rate of illness in the U.S will continue to grow and preventive medicine can be a good return on investment if the government focuses on education of proper nutrition, exercise, and elimination bad habits that contribute to the leading causes of deaths in the

As a physician in the future, I hope to educate and train competent physicians of the highest ideals in the ways of prevention, diagnoses and treatment. The statement “prevention is better than cure” goes without saying. By promoting healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes, we can decrease the incidences of cardiovascular diseases and Diabetes. According to dailymail.com, The US has the highest rate of diabetes among all developed countries across the world~ 30 million people. The incidence of Type II diabetes can be decreased by decreasing fast food intake and sedentary lifestyle. Approximately 50 million Americans eat out every day with an estimated $1,200 spent on fast food each year. If we funded educational preventative programs that taught people on healthy habits, then we could decrease the incidences of diabetes, Heart attack, stroke. We could also decrease the amount of money being paid out by Medicaid and Medicare yearly as we funnel that money into other programs. This would in turn lead to a decrease in incidences, hospitalizations and mortality rates.

Healthy People 2020 is a program that was launched in December 2010 with goals and objectives aimed at promoting health and preventing diseases in U.S. (Aungst, 2011). Chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer cause seven out of ten deaths in every year. Many of the risk factors that contribute to the development of these diseases are preventable. The package is aimed at implementing appropriate measures to ensure most people live a healthy life so as to exploit their full potential. Healthy People 2020 is product of a stakeholder feedback process that is supreme in government and the health sector. Thousands of remarks were considered before a final draft was drawn for the program`s objectives. Among the objectives addressed in the program include mental health and mental disorders, environmental health, injury and violence preventing, diabetes, nutrition and weight status, blood disorders and blood safety and tobacco use. In my research, I picked on tobacco use as one of the objectives in the Healthy People 2020. Every year almost half a million people die in the U.S from smoking related illnesses and millions suffer from a disease caused by smoking.