Healthy People 2020
The “Healthy People” Initiative has provided science-based, 10 year national objectives to improve the health of Americans for the past 3 decades. Healthy People 2020 continues this tradition with a set of national priorities that strive to:
- Increase public awareness of the determinants of health and disease, and opportunities for progress.
- Provide measurable objectives and goals that are applicable on the national, State, and local level.
- Engage multiple sectors to take action to strengthen policies and practices driven by the evidence-bases.
For the first time in 30 years, Adolescent Health has been defined as its own topic area. The topic area is made up of 11 objectives and 24 measures. New areas of focus include youth development, schools and education, and youth aggression and victimization. Get more information on the Healthy People 2020 objectives.
Critical Indicators For Adolescents And Young Adults
Oregon was a part of a workgroup of state and national experts that convened for nearly a year to create a list of critical indicators for adolescents and young adults from across all of the Healthy People 2020 topic areas. 41 indicators were selected, and fall into 7 areas of focus: health care, healthy development, injury and violence prevention, mental health, substance abuse, sexual health, prevention of chronic diseases of adulthood.
These indicators provide an important opportunity to raise the visibility of key adolescent and young adult needs, and frame how public health can support the healthy development of Oregon youth. To this end, the Adolescent Health Section has selected a number of these indicators to be highlighted in informational briefs (below). Each brief details the importance of the indicator from an Oregon perspective - providing relevant national and state data, describing evidence-based policies and practices to “move the needle” on the indicator, and highlighting local activities and resources.
New briefs will be added periodically, please check back often! If you have questions about any of the briefs, or would like paper copies, please contact the Adolescent Health Program.
Informational Briefs (pdfs)
The Choking Game
A fact sheet for parents and teachers.
The Choking Game Fact Sheet (pdf) provides 2009 data on the awareness of and participation in the choking game among 8th graders in Oregon
It reviews the signs and symptoms of participation in youth, and outlines important messages and steps parents, teachers and other adults can do to help prevent participation in this dangerous activity.