Healthy People Consortium Meeting
"Implementing Healthy People 2010"
November 11, 2000

Summary of Breakout Group Discussion Concerning:
Diabetes

Participants were introduced, a brief overview of Healthy People 2010 was provided, and the Diabetes focus area was described from an overview perspective. Comparisons between the Diabetes focus areas in Healthy People 2000 and 2010 were made, and future activities of Healthy People 2010 were reviewed briefly.

1. Data Issues Identified

• Need for greater access to data that already exist and/or are being collected for all individuals, organizations, and communities (concerns expressed that data not made available to more than a "chosen few," and thus the majority can't get answers to their own questions and also must wait until publication before having access to data).
• Great concern about lack of "local data" that could be useful in influencing local policy decisions, as well as allowing for evaluation of effectiveness of local programs (discussions about both emerging GIS data systems and clarity of data definitions, etc., within Healthy People 2010 were made).

2. Implementation Issues Identified (not in priority order)

• "Prevention" must become more obvious in health strategies, not just access to treatments.
• All providers must accept and use their unique "role model" opportunities.
• Communities require extensive "support systems" if recommendations from the more medically oriented systems are to be reinforced, amplified, made successful, etc. There was an active discussion about needing to ensure the appropriate mix of support for "environmental and individual" support mechanisms, and that focusing on either one approach solely would not likely result in improved individual or population health.
• The general public must take a much more active role in health and the inevitable political process that determines health funding and support. Given this reality, many more and more effective messages need to be targeted to the public to keep them not only "healthy," but also aware of the emerging health issues that they must address as citizens of the United States.
• Much greater coordination among conditions that (may) have a common set of antecedent factors (e.g., CVD, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, etc.) needs to occur. The conflict between categorical funding by Congress and the reality of integrated approaches to prevention and treatment needs to be resolved.
• Given a health system that depends heavily on employer-based insurance and the fact that many/most persons in the United States work, greater emphasis on employee models of behavioral modification, work site activities, etc., needs to be considered.

Submitted by Frank Vinicor, CDC and Judy Fradkin, NIH

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