Healthy People 2010: Oral Health & Looking Ahead

Each decade since 1979, the US Department of Health and Human Services has issued a comprehensive set of national disease prevention and health promotion objectives. The initiative, known as Healthy People, is grounded on the notion that setting national objectives and monitoring progress can motivate action. As the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) set out to develop Healthy People 2020, the next set of national objectives for the next decade, the program faces new public health and management challenges. As our nation confronts such issues in oral health, bioterrorism, pandemic flu, and an obesity epidemic, our strategies for promoting the Nation's health must reflect those evolving needs and must be achievable with available resources. How can the 2020 objective-setting process foster cooperation and commitment of stakeholders--both public and private? This session will provide an overview and background of the Healthy People initiative, including progress toward the oral health objectives, lessons learned, and describe HHS efforts to develop the Healthy People 2020 objectives. Strategies for public health professionals who wish to participate in the development process will be described.