Healthy People 2020

United States is the largest and most diverse society on the globe. It spends almost 2 trillion dollars every year on health care, which is one in every seven dollars in the economy. U.S is one of the very few nations where all its citizens do not have medical coverage. Although it spends heavily on per capita on health care, and it has the most advanced medical technology system in the world, still it is not the healthiest nation on earth. The system performs so poorly that it leaves 50 million without health coverage and millions more inadequately covered (Garson, 2010).

The U.S. Health system spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country but ranks 37 out of 191 countries according to its performance.” (WHO, 2000, p. 1) Progression in the United States has not kept up with the advances in other wealthy nations dealing with the population health. Disease and chronic disability report almost 50% of America health problem (JAMA, 2013).

Infant mortality rate constitutes the death of a baby before their first birthday. Mortality rates around the world differ tremendously with America leading the first world countries at an alarming rate of 6.1 deaths per 1,000 births. Conversely, Finland and Japan secure the last, most desirable position, with deaths totaling 2.3 per 1,000 births, as of 2010. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) In 2014, over 23,000 babies died in the United States. (CDC, 2016) Exploring the mortality rates in America brings light to a dire need for additional interventions and research as to why this developing nation has the highest rate of infant deaths before the age of 1 year old. African Americans face the worst outcomes of infant death compared to whites, Latino, and their Native American peers in North Carolina. (Ovaska-Few, 2015) This paper will explore why African American are the leading race for infant mortality and the steps that health communities need to take to address this devastating occurrence.

Healthy People 2020 discusses a number of special population’s that have barriers to care including; race, age sex, sexual identity, age, disability, socioeconomic, and location; this post will discuss race (ethnic) group.  There are a number of races mentioned in healthy people 2020, such as, Asian, American Indian, Alaskan, Latino and African American (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Access to health care in an ethnic group is multifaceted from the lack of trust, lack of health care education, discrimination and cost of care including health insurance. According to Howard, Peace, & Howard (2014), African Americans have a greater risk of three preventable diseases, hypertension, renal failure and bacterial infections stating; “no other disease

“Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life”(Giscombé, C. L., & Lobel, M., 2005). The infant mortality rate for African Americans is 13.7 deaths per 1000 live births, more than twice the rate (5.7) for White Americans in the U.S. (Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008). A lot of the racial disparity in infant mortality can be explained by low birthweight and preterm delivery, which are also disproportionately and often experienced by African Americans (Martin et al., 2007).

Communication is essential in every aspect of life. Open and strategic communication plans are crucial for the efficient performance of health organizations. End users need health information to make informed decisions. With the advancement of technology such as access to the Internet, it is convenient for patients to access health care services and products (Publishing, 2013). Health care services are importance to the community.

Statistically, African American have 2.5 times the likelihood of women of other races to start prenatal care in the third trimesters, or in some cases, not at all (Heisler, 18). Prenatal care includes education and counseling about how to handle various aspects of pregnancy in terms of nutrition, the importance of adequate physical activity, and basic infant care skills. This education encourages appropriate weight gain and discourages alcohol and tobacco consumption during pregnancy. It can be inferred from this information that prenatal care will reduce the occurrence of low birthweights and short gestational age births (premature births) (Heisler, 18).This education can also decrease deaths due to accidents or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). No prenatal care for the mother will result in a high probability that the infant will die in the first month after birth. However, it is a sad reality that many African American women do not have access to or knowledge of prenatal care; this unawareness will result in an equally disparaging consequence - high

The journal written by Christopher and Simpson (2014) addresses the outcomes birth disparities between African American and White population. Although infant mortality rates declined 12 percent in the US from 2005 to 2011, which represents 6.05 infant deaths per 1000 live births, African American still have the highest rate on infant mortality in the nation. The infant mortality rate for this population in this period of time was 12.4 infant deaths per 1000 live births. According to the article, African American babies die before the first birthday twice the rate comparing to White babies.

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

We all know someone who has suffered from heart disease. Whether it was from a heart attack, congestive heart failure, or stroke, some type of cardiovascular disease has taken the life of someone we loved way too soon. This epidemic of heart disease must be stopped through the collaboration of physicians, nurses, law makers, and concerned citizens. The purpose of this paper is to examine cardiovascular disease, the risks associated with heart disease and obesity per Milo’s framework, comparison of obesity and Healthy People 2020 national goals, and finally the long-term and short-term goals and interventions selected for this paper.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) also known as infant death rate, is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday. Infant mortality is calculated, by the number of children who die under a year of age divided by the number of live births that year. Infant mortality rate is very important as it relates to the health of pregnant women, children and infants and it’s associated with maternal health, quality and access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices. The most important purpose of this review is to examine and understand why African American infants are disproportionately affected and the factors(Low birth weight, preterm birth weight and very low birth weight and infant mortality)

One of the goal Healthy People 2020 is about the nutrition and weight status. The main goal of the program is to promote health and reduce the chronic disease risk through consumption of healthful diets and achievements and maintenance of healthy body weights. (Healthy people 2020)

The goals of 2020 Healthy People would be to promote individual health. By reducing chronic diseases. Along with the risks through the consumption of nutritious diets. Along with achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight. The overview of the goals state that it wants to see effort and changes in diets and weights. Along with addressing individual’s behaviors. Thus, these would affect schools, worksites healthcare organizations and the overall communities.

Infant mortality has long been considered to be an important indicator of a nation’s health, and while it has fallen dramatically over the past five decades, there are still striking differences along socioeconomic, geographic, and racial lines. “In 2009, the infant mortality rate was 12.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births among blacks, compared to 5.3 among whites.” Equally large and persistent differences by race are found for other birth outcomes – including stillbirths, preterm births, and low birth weight – and many of these contribute to the racial gap in infant mortality. Solutions to the problem of higher infant death rates among black families have eluded medical, health policy, and research communities for decades. African American women continue to face a disproportionately higher risk for delivering premature and low birthweight babies, many of whom die within their first year of life.

The health care profession treats determinants of well being as direct indicators of an individual’s ability to sustain good health. Therefore, this translates directly to pediatrics as the ability of an infant or young child to equally sustain good health. Social determinants of health include stress, social exclusion, social gradient, transport, food, unemployment, addiction, and work. These factors are perceived as of significance because they develop the inequitable divergences in medical outcomes across various social factions. The health care community in the recent decade has done a lot to minimize the health differences through acts, such as The Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, health disparities continue to characterize the American health care system due to its isolation of minority communities. Researchers have informed that health disparities affect persons based on their religion, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. For this, improving health through looking at social determinants needs to focus on non-health social services as much as it does on health care.