Healthy People 2020 Review of Three Articles

Healthy People 2020

Review of Three Articles from Healthy People 2020

Global Health

The goal of improved global health is to strengthen U.S. national security through global disease detection, response, prevention, and control strategies. Threats to health in one part of the world may have far reaching consequences that impact public health across the globe. The 2003 SARS epidemic and the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak are recent examples. Furthermore, improving the health of the global population promotes political stability, diplomacy, and economic growth worldwide.

The world and its economies are increasingly interdependent and international travel and commerce is becoming more prevalent. Expanding international trade introduces new health risks. A complex international distribution chain has resulted in potential international outbreaks due to food borne infections, poor quality pharmaceuticals, and contaminated consumer goods. Since the 1970s one or more new diseases have been identified annually. Rapid identification and control of emerging infectious diseases as well as other threats to public health, promotes health abroad, prevents the international spread of disease, and protects the health of the U.S. population.

Global Health concerns encompass more than infectious diseases. Non-communicable diseases are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. These conditions include diabetes and obesity, mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and injuries. As social and economic conditions in developing countries change and their health systems and surveillance improve, more focus will be needed to address non-communicable diseases, mental health, substance abuse disorders, and, especially, injuries.

National objectives in global health include reducing the number of cases of malaria reported in the United States, decreasing the tuberculosis (TB) case rate for immigrants living in the United States, increasing the number of Global Disease Detection Regional Centers worldwide to detect and contain emerging health threats, increasing the number of public health professionals trained by Global Disease Detection programs worldwide, and increasing diagnostic testing capacity in host countries and regionally through the Global Disease Detection program over the remainder of the decade ("Global Health, 2012).

Early and Middle Childhood

Early and middle childhood provide the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional foundation for lifelong health, learning, and well-being. This period can be divided into three stages of development, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Early childhood, normally defined as from birth to age eight, is a time of tremendous physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. Middle childhood, from age six to twelve is a time when children develop skills for building healthy social relationships and learn roles that will lay the ground work for a lifetime. Research indicates that experiences in these early stages of life are crucial for a child's healthy development and lifelong learning. A child's development during this time influences future cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development, which can impact school readiness and later success in life. Furthermore studies on a number of adult health and medical conditions points to pre-disease pathways that have their beginnings in early and middle childhood.

The human brain grows to 90% of its adult size by age three. During early childhood children reach developmental milestones that encompass, emotional regulation and attachment, language development, and motor skill development. These milestones can be significantly delayed by environmental stressors and other negative risk factors.

In early and middle childhood children learn and develop lifelong habits and skills such as self-discipline, the ability to make good decisions about risky situations, eating habits, and how to negotiate conflict. It is also during this time that children are at risk for asthma, obesity, dental caries, physical abuse, and developmental and behavioral disorders. These conditions impact the education, health, and well-being of the adolescents and adults they will become.

Issues of concern in early and middle childhood include implementing and evaluating public health interventions that foster knowledgeable and nurturing families, parents, and caregivers, create supportive and safe environments in schools, communities, and homes, and increase access to high-quality health care.

National objectives include increasing the number of children who are ready for school in all five domains of healthy development (physical, social-emotional, approaches to learning, language and cognitive), increasing awareness of parents with children under the age of three about positive parenting practices, decreasing the number children who have poor quality sleep, and increasing the number schools that provide high quality health education to parents and children through highly qualified personnel (Early and Middle Childhood, 2012).

Immunization and Infectious Diseases

The increase in life expectancy over the last century can be largely attributed to improvements in childhood survival rates related to reductions in infectious disease mortality due largely to immunizations. Currently immunization recommendations in the United States target seventeen vaccine-preventable diseases across the lifespan. Unfortunately, infectious diseases remain a major cause of illness, disability, and death. This is due in part to a more mobile society and the fact that diseases do not stop at geopolitical borders. Awareness of disease and completing prevention and treatment courses remain essential components for reducing infectious disease transmission.

Viral hepatitis, influenza, and tuberculosis (TB) remain among the leading causes of illness and death in the United States and annually place a heavy economic burden on individuals and society. Vaccines are among the most cost-effective clinical preventive services and are a core component of any preventive services package. Childhood immunization programs provide a very high return on investment. For each birth cohort vaccinated with the routine immunization schedule society saves 33,000 lives, prevents 14 million cases of disease, and reduces direct health care costs by $9.9 billion while saving $33.4 billion in indirect costs.