Healthy People 2030: A Comprehensive Framework for Health Promotion - Essay Sample

Introduction

The Healthy People initiative is a framework for health promotion and disease prevention. The development of Healthy People 2030 involves establishing foundational principles, plan of action, and identifying new objectives. The Healthy People 2030 initiative is a diverse process with input from various subjects matter experts involving different health topics. The initiative covers four categories which include community health, family and youth health, preventive care, and disease management. This paper aims to provide a discussion of a topic from each category

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Community Health

Community health is a branch of medical specialty that is concerned with the healthcare issues of people within specific geographic regions. Education and community-based programs are key drivers for change under community health. These programs are designed with the main objective of preventing disease, improving people's health and enhancing the quality of life (Healthy People, 2020). The community-based educational strategies are designed to reach people outside of conventional healthcare settings to places such as in schools, worksites, and communities. Using a nontraditional setting encourages informal information sharing through peer social interaction. Educational and community-based programs play a crucial role in educating communities on topics such as chronic diseases, mental health, injury and violence prevention, among others.

Family and Youth Health

Family and youth health programs are aimed at giving young people an accessible platform to learn about sexual and reproductive health issues. Family planning is one of the main objective geared towards empowering young people on responsible sexual and reproductive behaviors. The goal of family planning is to allow individuals to improve birth spacing and achieve the desired family size. Family planning includes contraceptive services, pregnancy testing and counselling, preconception health services, and essential infertility services, among others (Healthy People, 2020). Family planning also aims at educating young people on ways of preventing unintended pregnancies through sexual abstinence, and consistent use of contraceptives. Men and women are counseled about using condoms to prevent against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

Preventive Care

Preventive care involves any medical intervention aimed at defending an individual against health emergencies. Preventive care services are diverse and include occupational safety and health interventions that are aimed at preventing diseases, injuries and deaths that may occur due to work conditions. Occupational safety and health initiatives are addressed through the National Occupational Research Agenda (Healthy People, 2020). The NORA agenda was established to stimulate research targeted at improving workplace practices. The workplace is a nontraditional healthcare setting that provides a forum for public health action to prevent the risk of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths.

Disease Management

Disease management involves structured treatment plans that are designed to help individuals better manage their chronic conditions. The main aim of disease management programs is to improve the medical treatment of chronic conditions in the long-term. These programs are currently available for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes. There is no specific cure for diabetes, but the condition can be treated and controlled. The major goal of diabetes treatment is to control blood sugar levels to prevent the development of diabetes-related health complications. Diabetes is primarily managed by insulin injection, dietary changes and exercises (Ferry, 2018). Proper nutrition is an integral component of any diabetes care plan.

Conclusion

In summary, the Healthy People initiative is a framework for health promotion and disease prevention. The paper has discussed the different categories of healthcare-related programs. The paper has explored various topics such as education and community-based programs, family planning, occupational safety and health, and lastly disease management programs.

References

Ferry, R. (2018). Diabetes & Treatment, Type 1 & 2: Medications, Guidelines & Diet. https://www.medicinenet.com/diabetes_treatment/article.htm#diabetes_type_1_and_type_2_definition_and_facts

Healthy People, (2020). Educational and Community-Based Programs. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/educational-and-community-based-programs

Healthy People (2020). Family Planning. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/family-planning

Healthy People (2020). Occupational Safety and Health. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/occupational-safety-and-health