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American Public Health Association Over the last century, public health advancements and medical breakthroughs have greatly improved the health of our nation by dramatically reducing infant mortality, increasing life expectancy and improving overall quality of life. Alarmingly, the great strides of the past have been reduced to baby steps today. The health indicators included in this report, after years of sustained improvement, have for the past several years demonstrated a lack of significant progress towards improving the health status of our citizens. Our progress has slowed, and, despite our great wealth and abundant resources, the United States has fallen behind many other nations in key indicators of health. The consequence of this is that too many of our citizens continue to suffer from conditions that are largely preventable. As a nation, we need to get back on track, and there are several ways we can do so. To start, we need to look at the leading causes of death in the United States, specifically, chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. Seven out of every ten Americans who die each year, die of a chronic disease, and sadly, not only are chronic diseases among the most prevalent, most deadly and most costly health problems, they are also the most preventable. By adopting healthy behaviors, such as eating healthier, being physically active and avoiding tobacco, we can prevent or control the devastating effects of these diseases. Next, in conjunction with establishing chronic disease prevention as a priority and encouraging healthy choices, it is essential that we also address the social determinants that play a role in health behaviors. While helping individuals improve their health behaviors will always be an essential component of promoting health, significant progress towards reaching our goals of reducing the burden of chronic disease and eliminating health disparities can only be achieved when we address the environment of the world in which we live. People must have access to healthy food in order to make nutritious choices; communities need sidewalks to encourage physical activity; and policies banning tobacco are essential for protecting individuals from secondhand smoke and encouraging smokers to quit. Furthermore, to improve health, we must ensure that each and every citizen has access to health care. Universal access to health care would save lives and reduce health disparities by allowing every member of our society access to screenings, such as those that are currently available to detect breast cancer, colon cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases, and it would also allow access to treatments that can increase survival and improve quality of life. Finally, to accomplish these steps to improve our nation’s health, we must engage every sector of society in the effort. Some will engage because of the altruistic benefits of improving our nation’s health, such as improved quality of life for those suffering from chronic disease. Others may engage for societal benefits, such as lowering skyrocketing health care costs. Whatever the motivation for an investment in prevention, there is increasing interest in all sectors in reforming the current system, and the time has come for us all to join together to find ways to implement these steps needed to improve health.
Together, we can reverse the downward trend of the past several years
and lay the foundation to ensure that in the future, we regain our
momentum, re-establish an upward trend and reclaim our place as one of
the healthiest nations. |
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Regaining our Momentum for
a Healthier America