Healthy People Assignment: Exploring Public Health in the US

This assignment solution focuses on the Healthy People 2020 program, a ten-year initiative designed to improve national health. It addresses the program's vision, overarching goals (achieving high-quality, extended lifespans, creating supportive environments, promoting health equity, and enhancing quality of life), and the four foundations of health measures (general health status, health-related quality of life, determinants of health, and disparities). The assignment explores the significance of obesity as a major health problem in the US and discusses the mission and key elements of public health infrastructure. It also examines how nurses can utilize essential public health services to manage health issues within the community. The solution includes cited references.

Running head: HEALTHY PEOPLE ASSIGNMENT
HEALTHY PEOPLE ASSIGNMENT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1HEALTHY PEOPLE ASSIGNMENT
Answer 1
Healthy People 2020 is a ten years program that is initiated for improvement of the
National Health launched on December 2, 2010. It is a multiyear procedure that vividly
reflected on the information obtained from different groups of people and organizations
(Healthypeople.gov, 2020). The vision of the program is to develop a society for all so that
they can have a healthy and longer lifespan.
Answer 2
The four overarching goals are
 To attain high-quality and extended lifespan of people free from disease, disability,
premature death or injury
 Creating a social and physical atmosphere for promoting health
 To achieve health equity and elimination of disparities among all groups
 To improve the quality of life across all stages of life
Answer 3
The first goal state that it is intended to offer better healthcare services to all that will
help in leading a healthy and better life. The second goal involves the creation of a
multidimensional environment that will support physical and social wellbeing. The third goal
is to accomplish health equity that involves the equal allocation of resources and avoiding
any discriminatory behavior or bias among any groups of people residing in the world
(Healthypeople.gov, 2020). The fourth goal is to enhance the quality of life at all the stages of
life irrespective of age. Thus, focusing on health is the major motto of the program.
Answer 4

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a. The four foundations of Health Measures help in monitoring the progress and
promoting health, preventing disorders and disability, avoiding discrimination and
improvement of quality of life. The first foundation is general health status that offers
information related to the health of a population. The second foundation is health-related
quality of life and well-being that includes various domains such as mental, physical, social
and emotional functioning to assess the positive outcomes of an individual’s life such as
satisfaction level and emotional well-being. The third foundation is determinant of health that
includes various kinds of environments that have an impact on the health of a person. The
fourth foundation is disparity, that involves strategies to mitigate the differences in health
status (Healthypeople.gov, 2020).
b. In general health, life expectancy indicates the mortality rate and helps in
understanding the overall status of the population. In the second foundation, participation in
everyday activities allowing to assess the social involvement of people within a community.
The economic determinant of health evaluates the financial impact on the life of an
individual, which affects health. The gender disparity is one of the concerning issues in
modern times that require addressing.
Answer 5
Obesity is a significant health problem in the US that is associated with several
diseases. There are 39.6% of the American that are obese and it affects all kind of people
irrespective of any factors (Cdc.gov, 2020). Thus, it is exerting pressure on the healthcare
system of the country.
Answer 6
a. The mission of public health infrastructure is to ensure that all levels of health
agencies have appropriate infrastructure to offer public health services. It offers National,

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State and community-level ability to promote health and preventing diseases as well as
prepare for emergency and chronic challenges.
b. The key elements are:
 Capable and qualified workforce- Healthcare staffs
 Update information- National surveillance and reporting systems
 Agencies that assess and respond to public health needs- Public Health Functions
Steering Committee (Healthypeople.gov, 2020)
Answer 7
With the use of ten essential public health services, a nurse can help in the
management of health problems in the local community. The health status can be monitored
from time to time to identify the problem. Diagnosis and investigation of the health problem
can be done and in case it did not affect the community, the use of information and education
for spreading awareness will be promoted. The use of mobility community partnerships for
developing policies and plans can be done to resolve the health issue. The law and regulation
can be enforced to strengthen the aspect of the community’s health (Healthypeople.gov,
2020. The nurse can bridge the gap of offering service to the patient and ensure that an
adequate workforce and sufficient resources are available. The evaluation and research can be
done for future improvement of the health and well-being of the community.

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References
Cdc.gov. (2020). Adult Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity Retrieved 11 February 2020,
from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
Healthypeople.gov. (2020). Health-Related Quality of Life and Well-Being | Healthy People
2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020, from
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Health-
Related-Quality-of-Life-and-Well-Being
Healthypeople.gov. (2020). About Healthy People | Healthy People 2020. Retrieved 11
February 2020, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/About-Healthy-People
Healthypeople.gov. (2020). Public Health Infrastructure | Healthy People 2020. Retrieved
11 February 2020, from
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/public-health-
infrastructure