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Date: Tuesday, October 31, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Mary Jo Deering (202) 205-5968

"A great deal has been accomplished in the five years since the release of the Healthy People 2000 national objectives," Secretary Shalala said. "Life expectancy continues to increase. Infant mortality is at a record low. Childhood immunizations are increasing. Tobacco use is declining overall. And more women over age 50 are receiving mammograms at recommended intervals."

At the same time, she said, "We still face significant challenges in preventing disease and premature deaths. We're working on nation-wide scale to reach the Year 2000 objectives."

Altogether, "Healthy People 2000" entails 300 national health objectives in 22 categories, ranging from physical activity, nutrition, tobacco use and substance abuse to occupational safety, unintentional injury, sexually transmitted diseases and other disease-specific categories.

Today's report, Healthy People 2000 Midcourse Review and 1995 Revisions, shows that progress has been made toward more than two-thirds of the objectives for which tracking data are available. Other areas show either movement in the wrong direction or no change from the baseline year. Tracking data are not available for 29 percent of the goals.

The report also identifies 47 "sentinel objectives." Among these key goals, 33 objectives are proceeding in the right direction, nine are moving away from the targets, two are unchanged from the baseline, and three lack data to track progress.

Prepared by the U.S. Public Health Service, today's report includes maps showing how individual states are doing on the national health objectives. For example, Kansas is the only state where 95 percent of women 18 and older have ever had a Pap smear. Utah is the only state that has achieved the cigarette smoking target of fewer than 15 percent of adults smoking. No state has achieved a 90 percent high school completion rate, considered an essential foundation for good health. However, a majority of states have reduced air pollution.

Other maps compare rates of sedentary lifestyle, prenatal care, suicide, and poverty.

The Midcourse Review also shows the burden of premature death across the nation and among special population groups. "It reveals disturbing disparities among population groups," said Secretary Shalala.

For example, the years of potential life lost before age 75 for the United States as a whole for all races was 8,384 per 100,000. For blacks and American Indians/Alaska Natives in Indian Health Service areas the rates are considerably higher, 15,468 and 11,875, respectively. This reflects the higher mortality for blacks for a number of major causes of death that primarily affect younger people such as infant mortality, homicide, and HIV infection. Contributing to the disparity for American Indians/Alaska Natives are higher rates for infant mortality, unintentional injury death, homicide, and suicide.

For Hispanics, the number of years of potential life lost before age 75 is 7,114 per 100,000 reflecting lower death rates for most major causes of death.

Comparisons of state rates also show broad differences.

In addition, mid-course revisions to the nation's prevention agenda are published in today's document. As a result of a two-year public consultation process, these include new national objectives, new special population targets to focus attention on health disparities, and more challenging targets for objectives that have already been achieved.

Forty-two states, the District of Columbia and Guam, have their own year 2000 plans in place to frame priorities, and 70 percent of local health departments are also using Healthy People 2000. Private and voluntary sector organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons, National SAFE KIDS Campaign, American Cancer Society, and American Heart Association are also using the national objectives as a framework for their own materials, meetings, and public information efforts.

"This unprecedented national collaboration is making a difference in the health of all Americans," Secretary Shalala said.