What is Healthy People 2010?
It is a national health promotion and disease prevention agenda which describes the goal of health communication as the use of communication strategically to improve health. It also emphasizes the need for multidimensional approaches and multilevel interventions to reach diverse populations.
The Healthy People 2010 documentation cites several sources which describe health communication as integral to improving health, for it not only connects “the domains of communication and health, (but) is increasingly recognized as a necessary element of efforts to improve personal and public health” (Healthy People 2010, Conference Edition, Health Communication, 1999, p. 11-3).
This national agenda for effective health communications includes six objectives:
- Increase number of households with internet access
- Improve health literacy of those with marginal/inadequate literacy
- Include research and evaluation in communication campaigns
- Improve quality of internet health information: Evaluation
- Increase centers for excellence which advance HC
- Increase number of persons who report that their health care providers have satisfactory health communication skills
More about HealthPeople 2010
(Healthy People 2010, Conference Edition, Health Communication, 1999).
