Foreword
As managers of government programs, we often wish for guidance on the best
ways to help fellow citizens improve their health. This volume is
a how-to guidedetailing the most effective methods for prevention.
It shares the lessons others have learned as they developed innovative
strategies to reduce the burden of chronic disease.
In support of the Presidents HealthierUS initiative,
I am leading a new department-wide effortSteps to a HealthierUS.
The heart of this program is personal responsibility for the choices
Americans make and social responsibility to ensure that policy makers
support prevention programs that foster healthy behaviors.
Steps envisions a healthy, strong United Stateswhere diseases
are prevented when possible, controlled when necessary, and treated
when appropriate. Steps is a bold shift in our approach to
the health of our citizens, moving us from a disease care
system to a health care system. As public managers you know
that we can no longer sustain the skyrocketing health care costs
that over-reliance on treatment has created, nor can Americans sustain
the suffering that preventable diseases cause.
We have initially focused the Steps initiative on reducing
the major health burden created by diabetes, heart disease and stroke,
and cancer. Steps will also address the related lifestyle
choices of poor nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and
risky youth behavior. This document focuses on promising prevention
strategies for these diseases and the risk factors that cause them.
It is always important to do what works, not just what has always
been done. I hope this volume helps you to envision the path and
make real the steps to a healthier US.
Tommy G. Thompson
Secretary of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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