Committee on Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2020. Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice. (2011). Leading Health Indicators for Healthy People 2020: Letter Report. National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved from http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13088.

“Healthy People has evolved during the three decades in which it has existed. In 1990, Healthy People 2000 had two overarching goals, 15 topic areas, and 226 objectives. Today Healthy People 2020 has four overarching goals, 42 topics areas (of which 39 contain objectives), and nearly 600 objectives. The mission of Healthy People 2020 is to:

1. Identify nationwide health improvement priorities;
2. Increase public awareness and understanding of determinants of health, disease,
   disability, and opportunities for progress;
3. Provide measureable objectives and goals applicable at national, state, and local levels;
4. Engage multiple sectors to take actions to strengthen policies and improve practices that
   are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge;
5. and Identify critical research evaluation and data collection needs.

The following are the overarching goals of Healthy People 2020:

1. Attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease.
2. Achieve health equity; eliminate disparities.
3. Create social and physical environments that promote good health.
4. Promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across life stages.”