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

Summary of Breakout Group Discussion Concerning:
Substance Abuse

1. What does implementing the Healthy People 2010 objectives mean to you?

• It provides a checklist for what to ask in study questionnaires. 
• It provides a framework for what can be implemented programmatically. 
• It provides a central focus--a simple useful function. 
• It is a tool that sets a universal benchmark.

2. How do you suggest we work with local community groups to implement Healthy People 2010?

• Talk to community coalitions. We can encourage coalitions to use the Healthy People 2010 benchmarks to measure their success.
• Use the objectives as a way to get varied groups to work together toward a common goal.
• Work with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America to help disseminate the Healthy People 2010 objectives.
• Encourage sharing of ideas that are not exclusive of our own grantees. We have lots of sharing among grantees, but we rarely go outside of that circle.
• Share information technology so that more groups will have the tools they need to accomplish the objectives.

3. What are the challenges/barriers to meeting the Healthy People 2010 objectives?

• It is difficult to get accurate data from hospitals concerning those who are admitted. Practitioners are not good at documenting alcohol- or drug-related events.
• Testing is not adequately funded.
• States don't have the resources to address all 25 objectives.
• State and local officials aren't fully committed to supporting substance abuse initiatives. For example, they will set alcohol policies aimed at preventing underage drinking but look the other way or even support drinking during a sporting event.

4. What can we do to support the elimination of health disparities  among racial and ethnic population groups?

• Focus efforts on providing funding for treatment for those who cannot afford it--people who have the least amount of money have the least access to treatment. In many cases, before we focus on these objectives, we first should look at strategies to eliminate income disparities.
• Work toward reducing stigma so that more people will be willing to talk about their problems and seek treatment. Because insurance companies will often drop a claim if the event is drug related, we should also work to change attitudes and convince hospitals, insurance companies, etc., to use a disease model and not a moral/ethical model when they treat people with substance abuse problems.
• Look at ways to fill the holes for racial gaps.

5. How do we measure programs in the future?

• Develop national data sources.
• Report trends in different populations.
• Identify how many communities know of the Healthy People 2010 objectives and who use them to set their own goals in implementing their programs.
• Identify how many communities see each objective as a health problem and not as a moral issue.
• Measure how many projects continue after demonstration projects are completed.

6. How can we work more effectively with the media in implementing the Healthy People 2010 objectives?

• Be more aggressive in media advocacy.
• Follow media trends and provide the media with statistics and local stories that will help disseminate our message.
• Be prepared to talk with the media by having national data to support our position.
• Be ready to provide the media with credible sources.
• Contact local media and let them know that you are a source for substance abuse issues or that you can be a source for resources and experts who can discuss substance abuse issues.

Facilitator: Ann Mahony
Recorder: Craig Steinburg

Back to Consortium 2000 Table of Contents