Final review of progress towards Healthy People 2010's Goal 1: Increasing the quality and years of healthy life

The Healthy People Initiative is a comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention agenda designed to improve the health of all people in the United States. The latest iteration, Healthy People 2020, was launched in December 2010 and the final review of progress towards Healthy People 2010 goals and objectives was just recently released. This presentation will focus on the final results of progress towards meeting Healthy People 2010's Goal 1: Increasing the quality and years of healthy life for all Americans. Progress towards this goal is assessed by computing life expectancy and three measures of healthy life expectancy: Expected years of life in good or better health; Expected years of life free of activity limitation; and Expected years of life free of select chronic diseases. International comparisons, where available, and the differences between total life expectancy and healthy life measures, at birth and at age 65, when stratified by race and gender, will also be presented. Preliminary analyses indicate that life expectancy continues to improve for all population groups. Expected years of life in good or better health and expected years of life free of activity limitations also increased slightly; however, expected years of life free of selected chronic conditions have decreased since the beginning of the Healthy People 2010 initiative.