Citation

Carson CA, Zucconi SL. J. Health Adm. Educ. 1993; 11(4): 551-562.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Association of University Programs in Health Administration)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10130241

Abstract

Health objectives, developed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, were published recently in the document entitled Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. They were developed to guide national and local health policy toward actions to increase the health of the nation. To effectively apply these objectives locally, epidemiologists and health planners must work together. Through collaboration, the Healthy People 2000 objectives can be prioritized to guide health policy and planning on a regional basis. The purpose of this study was to assess certain health status indicators in southwestern Pennsylvania to determine whether it was likely that the year 2000 targets would be met if trends from the past 20 years were to continue. The following mortality rates were analyzed: heart disease, homicide, breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, suicide, motor vehicle accidents, work-related injury, and infant mortality. In addition, incidence of the following diseases was evaluated against the year 2000 targets: gonorrhea, primary and secondary syphilis, measles, tuberculosis, and AIDS. By employing epidemiological principles and considering strategic planning needs, it is possible to prioritize some of the health care needs in local areas for the next decade.

Language: en

Keywords

Data Collection; Epidemiology; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Health Services Research; Health Status Indicators; Humans; Morbidity; Mortality; Pennsylvania; Regional Health Planning