Healthy People 2020 - Essay Example

Healthy People 2020 Following globalization, the world has become an interconnected arena that cannot be isolated from its presence in the larger world. This notion is not only restricted to economics and politics but also incorporates the social realms of health and wellness. The subject of global health is not a new one: numerous international organizations including the United Nations and the World Health Organization have previously made efforts to eradicate the world of major health issues and diseases including, but not limited to, hunger and poverty, malaria, HIV or AIDS, and child mortality, through mutual cooperation and understanding. Since the United States is also an important part of the world, US national security as identified by Healthy People 2020 (2014), is also impacted by global diseases. Thus, by detecting global health issues, responding to them in a timely manner, introducing prevention methods and control strategies, the world can be made healthier resulting in a safer United States. Unarguably, the global landscape is an important factor when considering global health. The matter becomes significantly more important when getting down to a direction and possible steps to be involved in securing these goals, particularly in the presence of hard facts and ground realities. Global health is of immense importance to the United States due to its ability to transcend the physical borders of states and enter the US thereby threatening the health and security of the American population. Initially, the concern regarding global health has focused on the providence and availability of superior health care systems and technologies in the developing and underdeveloped countries. Generous donations have provided with the monetary support for dealing with high profile diseases and fundamental technologies yet there is a need for a more lasting identification of the bulk of health care issues. Koh, Piotrowski, Kumanyika and Fielding (2011) recognize the significance of global health in encouraging maximum success pertaining to public health issues through greater data accessibility, better target setting procedure, attainable strategic goals, and quality health measures. Since the health of the American population is closely linked with global health, health care reform laws passed within recent years can provide new opportunities for the promotion of health and wellness within national borders and beyond so as to yield a healthier world community by 2020 and hence a healthier America. Previously, the Millennium Development Goal initiated by the United Nations endeavored to address global health issues including key infectious diseases by 2015. The recent effort by Healthy People 2020 is a pleasing effort to address central health issues within the United States and beyond though global health is a newly added yet impactful objective. The world is experiencing changing demographics across nations. In his article, Marmot (2011) has made a case for global action in order to achieve universal goals that promote wellbeing and a healthy environment for all individuals. In dealing with such a large scale endeavor, it is important to remove the social disparities and the inequities that poorer children may experience as a result of their inhabitance in developing or underdeveloped countries. Infant mortality rate is one of the prominent diseases among the objectives of various international NGOs. It is also an important global health issue that has attracted much attention by the World Health Organization. Marmot (2011) mentions how the health strategy as guided by the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) should be applied to diverse countries so as to feed onto the strategic action execution in order to reach their health goals by 2020. By taking on the agenda of social determinants of health, Europe is attempting to strategically improve the state of health in the region. Similarly, by adapting these determinants in other regions, the varied global community can benefit from the health promotion. Ultimately, this could result in a healthier world and US by 2020 as undertaken by Healthy People 2020. Healthy People 2020 has been incorporated as a national agenda so as to prevent diseases and encourage a healthier life. So as to monitor the performance of the health of the population, a series of health measures have been developed that identify deficiencies and help to improve public health. Quality of life, as measured as a variable reflecting health and wellness, has incorporated indices that are comprised of one of the measure sets from Healthy People 2020 (Barile, Reeve, Smith, Zack, Mitchell, Kobau, Cella, Luncheon, and Thompson, 2013). These indices allow the measurement and evaluation of health related quality of life (HRQL) and wellbeing (WB) as identified by Healthy People 2020 as an agenda. These indices also reflect three measures including NIH (National Institutes of Health, PROMIS (Patient Reported measurement Information Systems), and the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale). Each of these three measures varies in terms of their feasibility, applicability and relevance. The quality of life variable is one which is complex as it involves the measurement of all the factors that affect the mental and physical health of an individual. On the other hand, the wellbeing variable encompasses particular individuals’ global satisfaction with life on the whole which is measured using the SWLS scale, which is fundamental measure employed by Healthy People 2020. The performance and impact of HRQL is also being assessed through a set of questions developed by the CDC. Other indicators are identified by means of a series of questions indicating the mental and physical health conditions of an individual thereby helping to analyze the quality of life. Pike, Susser, Galea, and Pinkus (2013) have identified mental and behavioral disorders as a key health issue that contributes towards disability. Focusing their article on the relevance of mental and behavioral health issues as an important contributor of disability and hence a significant global health problem, the authors go on to provide relevant models for a strategic plan towards the healthy 2020 vision. Since mental and physical wellness is an important part of wellbeing as pointed out by Healthy People 2020, therefore mental and behavioral health is also an important part of the overall health outcome. In their article, the authors speak about prioritizing the health issue and using community based approaches in order to deal with growing mental and behavioral problems successfully. There have been many successful community based health projects by several NGOs but this approach should be made a norm so as to allow individuals in even low resourced communities to receive quality health care. Global collaboration is a pivotal aspect of global health and by forming dense and interconnected networks of health and research professionals, strategic solutions can be implemented successfully in communities that have larger impact cross culturally. The strategies must involve global cooperation and objective setting that has been prioritized so as to recognize the current position and any future actions that can be taken. Integration of health issues within the agenda is one step towards achieving the objectives of a secure US and expansion of research capacity will go a long way in ensuring the attainment of Healthy People 2020 by 2020. The development of a mutually coordinated global health plan will ensure health and safety within the local regions of the world. The ease of classifying data and sharing new developments will also empower health programs through collaboration, expansion of the knowledge base, and efficient systems delivery. By improving the standards of health and the quality of life across the world regions, global health can be improved. Thus, improving health at the international level will have its effect on the health and wellbeing of the American population. Bibliography Barile, J. P., Reeve, B. B., Smith, A. W., Zack, M. M., Mitchell, S., Kobau, R., Cella, D. F. & Thompson, W. W. (2013). Monitoring population health for Healthy People 2020: evaluation of the NIH PROMIS Global Health, CDC Healthy Days, and satisfaction with life instruments. Quality Of Life Research, 22 (6), pp. 1201--1211. Healthy People 2020. (2014). Global Health - Healthy People. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/TopicsObjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=16 [Accessed: 22 Mar 2014]. Koh, H. K., Piotrowski, J. J., Kumanyika, S. & Fielding, J. E. (2011). Healthy People a 2020 vision for the social determinants approach. Health Education & Behavior, 38 (6), pp. 551--557. Marmot, M. (2011). Global action on social determinants of health. Bulletin Of The World Health Organization, 89 (10), pp. 702--702. Pike, K. M., Susser, E., Galea, S. & Ro (2013). Towards a Healthier 2020: Advancing Mental Health as a Global Health Priority. Public Health Reviews, 35 (1). Read More