Provide leadership for a healthier America by initiating, coordinating, and supporting disease prevention and health promotion activities, programs, policies, and information for the Department of Health and Human Services through collaboration with HHS agencies and other partners in prevention.

Vision Statement:

ODPHP envisions a healthier America in which individuals and communities make choices and take actions to enhance health and prevent disease.

Goals/Objectives/Strategies:

Goal 1: Advance the development and use of science in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion policies, programs, and information.

Objective 1.1: Develop, implement, review, and report progress in achieving national health objectives.

Strategy 1.1.1: Convene scientific and public health experts to develop national health objectives every ten years.

Strategy 1.1.2: Periodically review and report data that monitor progress toward achieving national health objectives.

Strategy 1.1.3: Periodically review and redefine targets to reflect current science.

Strategy 1.1.4: Evaluate utility of national health objectives by coordinating processes to review and measure use of objectives by regions, states, tribes, and local community policy makers, healthcare professionals, and consumers.

Strategy 1.1.5: Support evidenced-based reviews, evaluations and activities of disease prevention and health promotion practices in communities modeled after the national health objectives.

Objective 1.2: Advance the science of physical activity.

Strategy 1.2.1: Convene scientific and public health experts to review literature and develop evidence-based guidelines regarding physical activity for Americans.

Strategy 1.2.2: Periodically review and report data that monitor progress toward achieving recommendations set out in guidelines.

Strategy 1.2.3: Periodically review and redefine guidelines to reflect current science.

Strategy 1.2.4: Evaluate utility of physical activity guidelines by coordinating processes to review and measure use of guidelines by regions, states, tribes, and local community policy makers, healthcare professionals, and consumers.

Objective 1.3: Advance nutrition science.

Strategy 1.3.1: Work collaboratively with US Department of Agriculture to convene scientific and public health expertise to review literature and develop evidence based dietary guidelines to serve as a basis for Federal Nutrition Policy, for use by healthcare professionals, and to advise consumers about food choices.

Strategy 1.3.2: Periodically review and report data that monitor progress toward achieving recommendations set out in guidelines and update guidelines to reflect current science.

Strategy 1.3.3: Evaluate utility of dietary guidelines by coordinating processes to review and measure use of guidelines by regions, states, tribes, and local community policy makers, healthcare professionals, and consumers.

Strategy 1.3.4: Provide leadership, coordination, assessment and evaluation of human nutrient requirements through the Federal Dietary Reference Intake Steering Committee and related activities.

Strategy 1.3.5: Support other evidenced-based reviews and activities of disease prevention and health promotion science conducted outside ODPHP.

Objective 1.4: Advance communication science.

Strategy 1.4.1: Conduct pilot projects to test user-centered strategies for supporting healthy decision-making particularly among vulnerable populations.

Strategy 1.4.2: Conduct formative research to develop and promote innovative user-centered approaches to communicating health information, for example, using interactive websites and handheld devices, and delivering information in contexts in which people make health decisions.

Strategy 1.4.3: Share evaluation and research findings widely.

Objective 1.5: Advance the science of community-based health promotion practices.

Strategy 1.5.1: Support evidenced-based reviews, evaluations and activities of disease prevention and health promotion practices in communities modeled after the national health objectives, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and/or Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

Objective 1.6: Identify areas in which prevention science may be lacking for future strategic planning.

Goal 2: Increase the coordination and promotion of disease prevention and health promotion activities across the nation.

Objective 2.1: Increase effective collaborations and information sharing among disease prevention, health promotion and health communication entities in the public and private sector.

Strategy 2.1.1: Establish partnerships.

Strategy 2.1.2: Explore opportunities to support grants and/or cooperative agreements (as budget permits).

Strategy 2.1.3: Provide technical expertise to projects which evaluate scientific evidence as a basis for disease prevention or health promotion recommendations.

Strategy 2.1.4: Increase ODPHP participation in and attendance at National Meetings on disease prevention and health promotion issues to share information about HHS activities and capitalize on collaborative opportunities.

Strategy 2.1.5: Expand collaboration with internal and external health communication and e-health professionals to develop and implement forward-thinking health communication and e-health policy and strategic plans in support of national health policy.

Goal 3: Provide the public and health professionals with meaningful access to quality health information through a user-centered approach.

Objective 3.1: Communicate reliable and accurate health promotion and disease prevention information.

Strategy 3.1.1: Facilitate the integration of evidence-based and user-centered communication strategies in ODPHP's major initiatives.

Strategy 3.1.2: Lead and coordinate review of dietary guidance materials for consistency with Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Strategy 3.1.3: Establish and maintain the National Health Information Center and various Web sites which focus national attention and inform Americans on disease prevention and health promotion issues.

Strategy 3.1.4: Ensure that ODPHP materials, guidance and Web sites are understandable, navigable, relevant , and actionable by Americans with various literacy levels and Internet skills through audience testing, research and monitoring.

Strategy 3.1.5: Provide continual improvement of healthfinder.gov to ensure information and infrastructure support users of all health literacy levels to make healthy decisions.

Objective 3.2: Improve health literacy

Strategy 3.2.1: Provide leadership and coordinate public-private sector health literacy stakeholders toward the development and implementation of a national action plan for improving health literacy.

Goal 4: Provide education and experience in disease prevention and health promotion policy to current and future public health professionals within and outside of ODPHP.

Objective 4.1: Encourage opportunities for staff to attend professional training and development.

Objective 4.2: Provide short-term and long-term opportunities within ODPHP for emerging leaders, interns, and other scholars interested in disease prevention and health promotion.

Strategy 4.2.1: Manage the Luther Terry Fellowship.

Strategy 4.2.2: Fund and manage a cooperative agreement every five years with an organization that specializes in recruiting and teaching health promotion and disease prevention scholars.

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