August 24, 2020 – The Department of Health & Human Services has outlined its 10-year objectives as part of Healthy People 2030, highlighting targets for addressing the social determinants of health over the next decade.

The agency said this is the first time the Healthy People benchmarks, which HHS issues every 10 years to outline the most critical health priority areas, identified social determinants of health as one of the key areas. The Healthy People 2020 plan looked at “social and community context” for health.

“Healthy People was the first national effort to lay out a set of data-driven priorities for health improvement,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “Healthy People 2030 adopts a more focused set of objectives and more rigorous data standards to help the federal government and all of our partners deliver results on these important goals over the next decade.”

Healthy People 2030 plans to continue the agency’s work to address key social determinants of health, like economic stability, educational access and quality, access to care and quality of care, neighborhood, and the social and community context outlined in Healthy People 2020, HHS.

In addition to that, Healthy People 2030 zeroes in on health disparities and the health inequities that cause them, as well as patient health literacy.

Furthermore, the plan emphasizes COVID-19 and other emerging public health threats.

“Now more than ever, we need programs like Healthy People that set a shared vision for a healthier nation, where all people can achieve their full potential for health and well-being across the lifespan,” said ADM Brett P. Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health. “COVID-19 has brought the importance of public health to the forefront of our national dialogue. Achieving Healthy People 2030’s vision would help the United States become more resilient to public health threats like COVID-19.”

Spearheaded by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and the National Center for Health Statistics, Healthy People 2030 used a multi-sector approach to outlining key health priorities. HHS used expertise from 20 other federal agencies and 13 external thought leaders, the agency explained.

In addition to the social determinants of health and infectious disease like COVID-19, Healthy People 2030 will focus on a myriad of health conditions, like addiction, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, healthcare-associated infections (HACs), obesity, pregnancy, and more.

It will also focus on health behaviors, like drug and alcohol use or vaccinations. In general, this category will look at different preventive measures patients do and do not take in order to promote and manage their own wellness. Other focus areas under this umbrella may include safe food handling, injury prevention, physical activity, and preventive care or violence prevention.

HHS also included population health and a focus on certain populations of patients, many of whom have been traditionally marginalized, in the plan. These populations include:

• Adolescents
• Children
• Infants
• LGBTQ
• Men
• Older Adults
• Parents or caregivers
• People with disabilities
• Women
• Workforce

And finally, HHS plans on looking at health settings and systems themselves. This will include a look at health IT, community and environmental health, housing and homes, health policy, the healthcare payer landscape, schools, and numerous other sectors.

Healthy People 2030 comes as the healthcare industry continues to acknowledge the social determinants of health as important aspects of the care continuum. As the push for more value-based care has come to the forefront, medical professionals have recognized the downstream factors that affect patient health.

Addressing those downstream factors, or the social determinants of health, has been core to the industry’s efforts to deliver on value-based care.

And in the context of healthcare’s current climate, which has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, that recognition of the social determinants of health and health equity has become more prominent. As the industry sees certain populations — in the case of COVID-19, Black and Hispanic populations — become sicker than others, a renewed focus on equity will be essential.