The Healthy People Project: A Comprehensive Report and Analysis

This report focuses on the Healthy People 2020 project, a government initiative aimed at creating a healthier nation through effective disease prevention and health promotion. It discusses the project's origins, goals, and objectives, including ensuring high-quality patient treatment, achieving equality in healthcare, and fostering a healthy living environment. The report outlines the Foundation Health Measures, which include General Health Status, Health-Related Quality of Life and Well-being, and Determinants of Health. It highlights the significance of addressing obesity, a major public health issue, and examines the role of the Public Health Infrastructure in providing essential healthcare services. The report emphasizes the importance of a competent work environment, modern technology, and effective information systems. Furthermore, it describes the roles of nurses in monitoring health, providing education, and developing strategies to address health issues within communities. The report concludes by emphasizing the Healthy People Project's contribution to public well-being and its potential for a healthier future.

Running head: THE PROJECT OF THE HEALTHY PEOPLE
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The Project of The Healthy People
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Healthy People 2020 is a plan proposed by the government for creating a healthier
nation through effective disease prevention. Healthy People is a program associated with
promoting health awareness and disease prevention at a global level, providing scientific
goals to improve the health of ordinary people, encouraging them to make better decisions
regarding health(Healthypeople.gov, 2020).
The Healthy People was developed from the initiatives of the “Surgeon General’s
Report” (1979), and the previous healthy people program implemented in 1990, 2000 and
2010 respectively.
The primary goal of the Healthy People program is to ensure high-quality treatment of
the patients giving them longer life free from disease, to attain equality in providing health
care to all while eliminating discrepancy and incongruity, to create an environment which
favors the well-being of the individual and promote the idea of healthy living among the
individuals throughout their life.
The Foundation Health Measures include General Health Status, Health-Related
Quality of life and Well-being, disparities and determinants of health. General Health Status
measures include Healthy Life expectancy which is the average number of years a person is
expected to stay healthy. Health-related Quality of Life(HRQoL) and Well-being involves
improvement in the quality of life, related to the physical, mental, and social health condition
of an individual(Healthypeople.gov, 2020)
Determinants of Health consists of several factors, such as policymaking, social
factors, health services, and individual behaviors(Maness & Branscum, 2017). Policymaking
is the effect of policies on the health of people. By putting a tax on tobacco sales leads to
lesser number of people who can afford tobacco. Even social determinants and physical
factors play an essential role in the well being of an individual. For example, people who are

THE PROJECT OF THE HEALTHY PEOPLE 3
exposed to poor air quality or high-quality levels of ozone are more prone to asthma.
Disparities include inequality and differences in treatment approach to individuals based on
their financial or social status, gender, and race(Braveman, 2014).
Obesity is a significant public health issue in the United States and is announced as an
epidemic by the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Adults are more prone to be
affected by obesity due to a sedentary lifestyle and are also responsible for low life
expectancy due to associated health complexities like hypertension, diabetes, and heart
disease(Hales et al, 2017). The total cost of treating obesity is high as well. The estimated
cost of managing obesity in the United States was around $148 billion annually.
The objective of the Public Health Infrastructure is to ensure the proper infrastructure
that helps in providing essential health care services to the public. The key components
include: providing a competent work environment, implementation of modern technology
and information collection system, creating an organisation responsible for assessment and
giving response to public health needs(DeSalvo et al, 2019). A proper working environment
is always preferred for good health and wellbeing of an individual, and an up-to-date
technology offers enhanced health care by providing easy access to information such as
patient records, thereby improving patient convenience.
At first, the nurses need to monitor the health status of the individual for identifying
the prevalent health issue followed by a diagnosis of the same, educate the patient and their
family about the ill effects of obesity and the health hazards associated with it(Xue &
Intrator, 2016). They can act as personal counsellors giving health goals and proper diet plans
to patients, thereby reducing adverse outcomes and should also be able to develop strategies
which address individual and community health issues.

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As a conclusion, it can be stated that The Healthy People Project has contributed
significantly to well being of the people through effective disease prevention. This program,
if implemented correctly, has great potential to provide a better and healthier future.

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REFERENCE
Braveman, P. (2014). What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be
clear. Public health reports, 129(1_suppl2), 5-8.
Heiman, H. J., & Artiga, S. (2015). Beyond health care: the role of social determinants in
promoting health and health equity. Health, 20(10), 1-10.
Maness, S. B., & Branscum, P. (2017). Utilizing a social determinant of health framework as
determinants of perceived behavioral control. Family & community health, 40(1), 39-
42.
www.healthypeople.gov. (2020). Healthy People 2020 |. Retrieved 12 February 2020, from
https://www.healthypeople.gov/
Xue, Y., & Intrator, O. (2016). Cultivating the role of nurse practitioners in providing
primary care to vulnerable populations in an era of health-care reform. Policy,
Politics, & Nursing Practice, 17(1), 24-31.
DeSalvo, K., Parekh, A., Hoagland, G. W., Dilley, A., Kaiman, S., Hines, M., & Levi, J.
(2019). Developing a Financing System to Support Public Health
Infrastructure. American journal of public health, 109(10), 1358-1361.
Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2017). Prevalence of obesity
among adults and youth: United States, 2015–2016.