Healthy People Moving Forward with the Midcourse Review and the Next Decade

Established in 1978, the Healthy People initiative establishes ten-year, science-based, disease prevention and health promotion objectives and targets to improve the health of the Nation.  Healthy People 2020 (HP2020), the fourth iteration of the initiative, is approaching its midpoint, the year 2015.  This midpoint for HP2020 – called, “The Midcourse Review” – is an opportunity to assess progress towards the HP2020 targets over the first half of the decade and determine whether there are trends that need to be reversed.  Led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Midcourse Review will provide stakeholders with the current trend data for HP2020’s 1200 objectives and offer insights regarding whether improvements have been achieved for our nation’s diverse populations (e.g., racial, ethnic, disabled, urban, rural). The results of the Midcourse Review will not only inform our direction as a nation but will also highlight issues that deserve consideration for the development of Healthy People 2030 (HP2030).

This presentation will look at where Healthy People 2020 stands at this point in the decade and the direction we are headed. Through the presentation, we will review the process established for conducting the Midcourse Review, including the engagement of interested Healthy People Federal Interagency Workgroup members, the development of guidance for the topic area workgroups, and the analysis of data for the 1,200 objectives of HP2020. We will also look at the steps needed to plan for the development of HP2030, including the review of available data and trends and the development of a broad-based user survey.