Health Objectives for the Nation
Consensus Set of Health Status Indicators for the General
Assessment of Community Health Status -- United States
Healthy People 2000 establishes a framework for the
development of an explicit prevention program for the nation (1);
the Year 2000 Health Objectives Planning Act* provides
legislative support for such a program. To address both the
requirements of that act and Objective 22.1 of Healthy People
2000, a consensus set of 18 health status indicators has been
developed to assist communities in assessing their general health
status and in focusing local, state, and national efforts in
tracking the year 2000 objectives (Table 1). Priority in
selecting the indicators was given to measures for which data are
readily available and that are commonly used in public health.
The set of health status indicators was developed by a
committee** established to implement Objective 22.1 through a
consensus process involving local, state, and federal health
officials and representatives from academic institutions and
professional associations. The health status indicators are
intended to ensure data comparability and facilitate use by
public health agencies at all levels of government. These
indicators are not intended to supersede specific measures
suggested in Healthy People 2000; however, they will provide a
broad indication of the general health status of a community.
In addition to this consensus set of health status
indicators, modifications to existing data collection systems
have been recommended to emphasize additional measures of
outcomes, risk factors, and processes that will be helpful for
planning prevention programs devoted to achieving the year 2000
objectives (Table 2). This additional list includes data needs
for indicators of selected chronic diseases, access to medical
care, and environmental exposures or behavioral risks.
Reported by: National Center for Health Statistics; Epidemiology
Program Office; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion; Public Health Practice Program Office;
Office of the Director, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note:
The need and rationale for a consensus set of health status
indicators has been described previously (1,2). Development of
this initial set of indicators involved broad input by policy and
technical experts representing all levels of public health
practice in the United States.
As public health priorities change and other data sets
become available, the list of indicators will be modified through
similar public consensus processes. CDC encourages both the
immediate adoption of this list of health status indicators in
public health practice and the development of the new and/or
modified data systems recommended by the committee.
References
Public Health Service. Healthy people 2000: national health
promotion and disease prevention objectives--full report, with
commentary. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, 1990; DHHS publication no.
(PHS)91-50212.
Institute of Medicine. The future of public health.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1988.
*Public Law no. 101-582 (42 USC *** 246 (1990)).
**Committee members and representations: American Public Health
Association--T. Colton, Ph.D., Boston University School of Public
Health; D. Rice, Sc.D., University of California, San Francisco.
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials--L. Novick,
M.D., New York State Department of Health; R. Eckoff, M.D., Iowa
Department of Public Health. National Association of County
Health Officials--M. Luth, M.P.H., Washington County Health
Department; F. Guerra, M.D., San Antonio Health Department.
Public Health Foundation--L. Olsen, M.D., Delaware Division of
Public Health; O. Shisana, Sc.D., District of Columbia Commission
of Public Health. United States Conference of Local Health
Officers--R. Biery, M.D., Kansas City Health Department. The
committee was convened by CDC.
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