Public Health Priorities
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Overview
What are the priorities?
- Overweight and Obesity
- Increasing Physical Activity
- HIV/AIDS
- Tobacco Use
- Preventing Birth Defects
- Preventing Injury
Why are these priorities?
- Seven of 10 Americans who die each year die of a preventable chronic
disease such as heart disease, diabetes and many forms of cancer.
- Tobacco-related illnesses are the leading cause of death and kill 435,000
people each year.
- Obesity-related illness is catching up quickly, killing 400,000 Americans each
year.
How can we solve/address these priorities?
- Eat healthy foods
- Be physically active
- Don't smoke
- Limit alcohol and avoid drugs
How is the Office of the Surgeon General/HHS helping?
- Through HHS initiatives such as Steps to a HealthierUS, Healthy Lifestyles & Disease Prevention,
and the Small Steps Campaign, we are encouraging American families to
take small, manageable steps within their current lifestyle — versus
drastic changes — to ensure long-term health.
Overweight and Obesity
- Speeches
-
Making Prevention Fun:
Improving America's Health through Recreation, 2003 National
Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition, October
22, 2003
-
Obesity and
Cancer: The Scientific Links and the Future of Prevention,
National Dialogue on Cancer, September 29, 2003
-
American Enterprise
Institute Obesity Conference, June 10, 2003
-
Public Safety Wellness
Week, January 22, 2003
-
2003 California Childhood
Obesity Conference, January 6, 2003
- Testimony
- Resources
Increasing Physical Activity
- Speeches
- Testimony
- Resources
HIV/AIDS
Tobacco Use
- Speeches
- Testimony
- Resources
Preventing Birth Defects
Preventing Injury
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Overview
What is the priority?
- Eliminating the greater burden of death and disease from breast cancer,
prostate cancer, cervical cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and
other illnesses in minority communities.
Why is this a priority?
- All Americans — regardless of their race, heritage or gender — should
have access to good health information, health insurance and health
services.
How can we solve/address this priority?
- We must work to increase access to health insurance and health services
for the traditionally underserved.
- We must continue to conduct research into the reasons for health disparities
and develop appropriate policies and outreach activities to close the
gap.
How is the Office of the Surgeon General/HHS helping?
- We are expanding programs like Community Health Centers and the State
Children's Insurance Program (S-CHIP).
- We are conducting additional research into the problem of health disparities
through our research institutes such as the National Center on Minority
Health (link) and the National Cancer Institute.
- We are increasing public awareness and outreach through programs like
Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day and The Heart Truth Campaign.
Speeches
-
Opening of Meeting:
Tobacco-Related Disparities Among Racial and Ethnic Groups, March
9, 2004
-
Launch of "FirstGov
en Español" Web Site, National Press Club, October 16, 2003
-
Hispanic Americans:
Honoring Our Past, Surpassing Our Present, and Leading Our Future,
September 17, 2003
-
Secondhand Smoke and Hispanic
Families: Smart Decisions Result in Better Health, Opening Keynote
Remarks at Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, September 22,
2003
-
Reducing Racial and
Cultural Disparities in Health Care: What Actions Now?, National
Managed Health Care Congress Summit, March 11, 2003
Testimony
Resources
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Overview
What is the priority?
- Improve the health literacy of all Americans. Health literacy is the
ability of an individual to access, understand, and use health-related
information and services to make appropriate health decisions.
Why is this a priority?
- More than 90 million Americans cannot adequately understand basic
health information.
- People of all ages, races, and income and education levels are affected.
How can we solve/address this priority?
- Increase awareness within the medical community and among the general
public about the importance of health literacy and the challenges presented
by low health literacy.
How is the Office of the Surgeon General/HHS helping?
- Building a robust health information system that provides equitable
access.
- Developing audience-appropriate information and support services for
all segments of the population, especially under-served persons.
- Training health professionals in the science of communication and
the use of communication technologies.
- Ensuring that Surgeon General communications are written in plain
language that people can understand.
Speeches
Resources
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Overview
What are the priorities?
- Terrorism
- Emerging Infections
- Natural Disasters
- Mental Health and Resilience
Why are these priorities?
- Americans count on a strong public health system capable of meeting
any emergency, whether it is an act of terrorism, an emerging infectious
illness, or a weather disaster such as a hurricane or tornado.
How can we solve/address these priorities?
- Invest more resources in our public health system
- Develop partnerships between law enforcement, public health, and education
agencies at all levels of government.
How is the Surgeon General's Office/HHS helping?
- Increased funding for bio-terrorism preparedness
- Research on biology bioterror-related agents
- Better food safety through import inspections
- Better public health and hospital planning and coordination
- Increased use of volunteers through the Medical
Reserve Corps
Speeches
- Education and Training:
The First Steps in Achieving National Preparedness, January 20,
2004
- Prevention and Preparedness:
Medical Reserve Corps Serving America, Nashville Surgical Society,
October 7, 2003
- Building Resilience: Psychology's
Role in Emergency Preparedness, American Psychological Association
Plenary Session, August 9, 2003
- The Role of Military Medicine
in Civilian Emergency Response, Navy Surgeon General's Exercise
in Operational Leadership, July 26, 2003
- Preparedness and Pharmacy
Science, American Pharmaceutical Association (APhA) Conference -
Academy of Students of Pharmacy (ASP) Opening Session, March 29, 2003
- Partnerships, Prevention and Preparedness,
Reserve Officers Association, January 20, 2003
Resources
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Speeches
Resources
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Overview
What is the priority?
- Encouraging children and adolescents to make healthy choices
Why is this a priority?
- Underage drinking
- Smoking
- Illicit, prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse
- Childhood and adolescent obesity
- Unintentional injury
How is the Office of the Surgeon General/HHS helping?
- Through the 50 Schools in 50 States Initiative, the Surgeon General
will visit at least one school in each of the 50 states, Washington,
D.C., and Puerto Rico during his tenure to talk with students about the
dangers of risky behaviors and the benefits of healthy choices.
- List of schools visited
- Invite the Surgeon General to your school
Press Releases
Speeches
Resources
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Surgeon General News
- October 14, 2004
By 2020, One In Two Americans Over Age 50 Will Be At Risk For Fractures From Osteoporosis Or Low Bone Mass full story
- May 27, 2004
New Surgeon General's Report Expands List of Diseases Caused by Smoking full story
- April 8, 2004
New Evidence Report Illustrates Links Between Health Literacy and Health Care Use and Outcomes full story
- March 16, 2004
HHS Names Members to Task Force on Drug Importation full story
Features
Links to Related Websites
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