Leading Health Indicators

Big South Fork of the Cumberland River is a 76 mile-long river in Tennessee and Kentucky. It is a major drainage feature of the Cumberland Plateau,a major tributary of the Cumberland River system, a world-class whitewater canoeing and kayaking stream, and the major feature of the beautiful Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

HEALTHY TENNESSEE 2020

Healthy Tennessee 2020:  An Initiative of the Tennessee Institute of Public Health

Healthy Tennessee 2020 is an initiative to develop a comprehensive, statewide health promotion and disease prevention agenda with the single, overarching purpose of promoting health by preventing illness, disability, and premature death.  Healthy Tennessee 2020 is built on the highly successful Healthy People model, which has, since 1980, served as the Nations comprehensive ten year health planning report. Starting with Healthy People 2010, released in 2000, the plans have included a Leading Health Indicators section. This section extracts a few key health indicators from the larger document and identifies a small number of benchmark measures to follow over time. Following the release of Healthy People 2010, many States developed State-specific plans. Tennessee was one of the few states that did not develop such a plan. By identifying the 16 leading health challenges facing Tennessee, Healthy Tennessee 2020 will serve as a State-specific set of ten year health objectives for Tennessee to achieve and as a roadmap for health planners, medical practitioners, educators, elected officials, and others who strive to improve the publics health and quality of life in Tennessee.

To create Healthy Tennessee 2020, the Tennessee Institute of Public Health (TNIPH) identified 16 leading health challenges facing Tennessee, and, for each of the 16, establish two ten year targets for the State to achieve. Where possible, the TNIPH will turn to existing expert groups to recommend the ten year targets. Each year, the TNIPH will report on progress toward achieving the targets and create and publicize a progress report. To this end, the TNIPHs board of directors has identified 16 Leading Health Indicators that represent Tennessees top health challenges in 2011. The TNIPH will publish an annual report to highlight progress being made to meet goals and objectives as well as to feature the best practices in public health occurring in Tennessee.

The TNIPH is an official statewide entity managed by East Tennessee State University (ETSU) within the College of Public Health. TNIPH is a lead convener of organizations, agencies, and groups to build and foster the collaborations necessary to improve the publics health. An active TNIPH Board of Directors includes expert representation from major higher education institutions, professional associations of healthcare providers and institutions, and state government leaders and elected officials.  Dr. Randy Wykoff, Dean of the ETSU College of Public Health, serves as TNIPH Executive Director. Ginny Kidwell, Program Director, oversees day to day operations and project management for the TNIPH.

TENNESSEE TOP SIXTEEN LEADING HEALTH INDICATORS

Behavioral Factors

A)     Alcohol and Substance/Prescription Drug Abuse

B)     Overweight and Obesity

C)     Physical Activity

D)    Tobacco Use

E)     Unhealthy Diet

F)     Responsible Sexual Behavior

Chronic Disease

A)     Cancer

B)     Diabetes Mellitus

C)     Heart Disease and Stroke

D)     Mental Health/Depression

Social Conditions

A)     Access to Healthcare including Preventive Care

B)     Economic Opportunity

C)     Educational Achievement

D)    Health Disparities

E)    Infant Mortality/Low Birth Weight

F)    Occupational/Environmental Safety