Report calls for greater emphasis on preventive care

Jan 30 2013

A report issued by the Trust for America's Health is urging a revamp of state and local public health efforts to better integrate and focus prevention strategies.

Modern Healthcare: Report Urges Coordinated Approach On Preventive Care
The not-for-profit Trust for America's Health is calling for a revamp of public health management at the federal, state and local levels in a report that urges a greater focus on preventive care. The report, called "A Healthier America 2013: Strategies to Move From Sick Care to Health Care in the Next Four Years," argues that the different agencies in HHS involved with preventive healthcare should work more closely together to coordinate efforts, and existing attempts to become more coordinated have been too slow in creation. Even within parts of HHS, programs are too separated, the authors of the 98-page report wrote (Barr, 1/29).

And on the topic of prevention and obesity --

NPR: What's Wrong With Calling Obesity A Medical Problem?
Americans have gotten heavier since 1980 -; this we know. And most doctors would say that the extra weight has made us more prone to heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, hypertension and even cancer. It's become a source of major national anxiety. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation predicts that every state in the nation will have an obesity rate greater than 44 percent by 2030, and will be sicker for it (Barclay, 1/28).