The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, works to strengthen the disease prevention and health promotion priorities of the Department within the collaborative framework of the HHS agencies.

Announcements

• Hurricane Information from HHS
• Press Release, September 28, 2004: HHS Awards $35.7 Million to Support Community Programs That Promote Better Health and Prevent Disease
• Closed: Funding Opportunity: Safe and Bright Futures for Children Initiative
• Closed: Nominations Requested/Open for the 2004 Secretary's Innovation in Prevention Awards [PDF]
• Prevention Communication Research Database
• The 2nd National Steps to a HealthierUS Summit was held in Baltimore, Maryland, April 29-30, 2004.
• 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
• The President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program
• Communicating Health: Priorities and Strategies for Progress, July 2003

Selected Projects

• Steps to a HealthierUS (Steps) — Steps is Secretary Thompson’s bold new initiative to advance the President’s HealthierUS goal of helping Americans live longer, better, and healthier lives. It will identify and promote programs that foster healthy behaviors and prevention. Priority areas for the Steps initiative are diabetes, obesity, asthma, heart disease, stroke, and cancer; also included are poor nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and youth risk taking. Visit www.healthierus.gov/steps/.
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans — Published jointly with the U.S. Department of Agriculture every 5 years since 1980, this publication is the statutorily mandated basis for Federal nutrition education activities. Visit http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/.
• healthfinder® — healthfinder® is a gateway Web site linking consumers and professionals to over 6,000 health information resources from the Federal Government and its many partners since 1997. Visit http://www.healthfinder.gov/.
• Healthy People 2010 — Healthy People 2010 presents a comprehensive set of disease prevention and health promotion objectives developed to improve the health of all people in the United States during the first decade of the 21st century. Visit http://www.healthypeople.gov/.
• Healthy People 2010 Health Communication Focus Area — The six objectives in the focus area represent a range of key issues in health communication. They address the diffusion of the Internet to households, the quality of health Web sites, health literacy, provider-patient communication, research and evaluation of communication programs, and Centers of Excellence in health communication. Visit http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/projects/HealthComm/.
• Luther L. Terry Senior Fellow serves as the Senior Clinical Advisor in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), which is located within the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Visit http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/projects/LutherTerry.htm for more information.
• National Health Information Center (NHIC) — This Internet-accessible clearinghouse with a toll-free number provides a central health information referral service for consumers and professionals using a database of more than 1,700 national associations, Government agencies, and other organizations. Visit http://www.health.gov/nhic or call 1-800-336-4797.
• National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) — The NHII encompasses information and communication technologies to advance personal health, population health, prevention, and health care. The goal is to ensure that all health decisionmakers, including consumers and patients, have the information they need, when and where they need it. The NHII provides the framework for public and private policies and programs. Visit http://ncvhs.hhs.gov/nhiilayo.pdf.
• Prevention Communication Research Database (PCRD) — PCRD is an online, searchable collection of audience communication research conducted or sponsored by HHS agencies on key prevention topics.  The PCRD highlight communication-related research findings that may not be widely known or published in peer-reviewed journals. Visit http://www.health.gov/communication/.
• Other ODPHP Projects

Publications

Note: 2004 editions of Federal Clearinghouses, National Health Observances, and Toll-Free Numbers will be available in mid-November.

• Healthy People 2010 (November 2000)
• Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fifth Edition
• Prevention Report
• 2004 Federal Health Information Centers and Clearinghouses, 2004 National Health Observances, and 2004 Toll-Free Numbers for Health Information
• Information for Health: A Strategy for Building the National Health Information Infrastructure (staffed by ODPHP)
• Wired for Health and Well-Being: The Emergence of Interactive Health Communication
• Other ODPHP publications

Contact

CAPT Penelope Royall, P.T., M.S.W.
Director
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Office of Public Health and Science, Office of the Secretary
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite LL100
Rockville, MD 20852
Voice (240) 453-8280
Fax (240) 453-8282
http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov

Updated September 28, 2004