Series on HHS Strategic Plan: Goal 2—Safeguard and Improve National and Global Health Conditions and Outcomes

HHS is dedicated to improving health conditions and outcomes for everyone by enhancing capabilities to predict, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, public health emergencies, and threats, both domestically and abroad.

Objective 2.3—Enhance promotion of healthy behaviors to reduce occurrence of and disparities in preventable injury, illness, and death

This objective focuses on promoting healthy behaviors, with specific emphasis on communication.

Strategies

Strategies for Objective 2.3 have communication at their core.

• Use available resources, forge partnerships, and foster collaborations to promote positive habits that enhance health conditions and diminish disparities in health outcomes.

• Involve providers, programs, and organizations at various levels in creating cultural competence training and educational materials, targeting healthcare providers serving maternal, perinatal, and postpartum populations, as well as communities facing economic and social marginalization.

Implications for State and County HHS Departments

Collaboration among programs necessitates effective communication and coordination to align strategies and pool resources, potentially requiring increased workload for HHS employees. Worker support at all levels is crucial for engaging with local providers, programs, and organizations to establish relationships with community stakeholders, essential for tailoring health interventions to specific populations. Allocating additional resources to initiatives addressing health disparities requires prioritizing financial resources, manpower, and technology infrastructure. Enhancing capabilities for data collection and analysis related to health disparities may require additional employee labor or new technology.