A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease & Stroke
A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke
Original Public Health Action Plan 2003
2004 Public Health Action Plan Update: Translating the Plan Into Action
Translating the Plan Into Action
Translating the Plan into action involved—
- 75 proposed action steps were derived from the complete Action Plan
- 22 priority action steps were identified by the Working Group and presented to the National Forum for discussion in April 2004
- 8 concrete tasks were selected as the principal focus of National Forum activities through April 2005
The identified concrete tasks, as well as certain of the additional priority action steps, are now being undertaken through the efforts of the National Forum and other partners.
Figure 1: The 7 thematic areas of the Action Plan
Celebrating Our First Five Years
An Overview of A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke 2008 Update
The National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention was established in 2003 to implement A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke (Action Plan). The Action Plan provides a comprehensive public health strategy and a framework to guide health practitioners’ and policy makers’ action in heart disease and stroke prevention. The National Forum involves participants from more than 80 national and international organizations representing public and private health care, faith, advocacy, academic, and policy organizations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials were the lead partners in developing the Action Plan and continue to participate in the leadership of the National Forum. Throughout the year, National Forum participants work in one or more of seven implementation groups: Action Priorities, Communications, Monitoring and Evaluation, Organizational Capacity, Policy Research, Public Health Leadership and Partnership, and Regional and Global Collaboration. The full body of the National Forum meets annually. Each of the Implementation Groups meets monthly via conference calls and in person twice per year.
For more information about the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease an Stroke, please visit www.nationalforum.org.
Last Reviewed: July 23, 2013
Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Original National Plan - A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke
The original National Plan, A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke was published in 2003 to address this urgent need for action. Key partners, public health experts, and heart disease and stroke prevention specialists came together to develop targeted recommendations and specific action steps toward achievement of this goal, through a process convened by CDC and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This plan was updated again in 2008 and then most recently in 2014 as described above.
2014: A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke: Ten-Year Update
In March 2014, the National Forum released A Public Health Action Plan to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke: Ten-Year Update. The Ten-Year Update provides a framework for individuals, organizations, and agencies to collaboratively achieve national goals for preventing heart disease and stroke. With contributions from more than 100 public health leaders, the Ten-Year Update calls for: Striking a better balance in the nation’s financial investment in health by prioritizing prevention, transforming our public health agencies into champions of heart health policy and environmental changes, and developing upstream strategies that prevent the root causes of heart disease and stroke.
In addressing these challenges, the Ten-Year Update identifies seven action priorities that reflect the changing landscape – both new opportunities and remaining barriers. These seven priorities guide the work for the National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention.
Seven Immediate Action Priorities for 2014 and Beyond
Effective communication
Focus: Prevention & public health
Communicate to legislators, policymakers, and the public at large the nation’s vital stake in sustaining and building upon the prevention and public health provisions in the Affordable Care Act, e.g., the National Prevention Council Prevention and Public Health Fund, and others.
Strategic leadership, partnerships, & organization
Focus: Public health—healthcare collaboration & integration
Integrate public health and health care into a public health system effective in supporting community-level prevention policies and programs, e.g., the Million Hearts.
Taking action
Focus: Cardiovascular-health improvement
Develop, advocate, and implement policies, programs, and practices aimed to improve the nation’s cardiovascular health in terms of the Healthy People 2020 objectives and AHA metrics—addressing tobacco use, overweight/obesity, physical activity, healthy diet (including reduction in sodium and artificial trans fat intake), blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting plasma glucose); and ensure that all such actions reach everyone, especially those most vulnerable die to unfavorable social and environmental conditions.
Building capacity
Focus: Prevention workforce
Make full use of resources for education and training of the prevention workforce at local, state, national, and global levels.
Evaluating impact
Focus: Monitoring cardiovascular health
Advocate for a comprehensive, robust, and timely system of monitoring cardiovascular events (heart attacks, stroke, heart failure) and cardiovascular health metrics for the US population, including full adoption of the “developmental” heart disease and stroke objectives of Healthy People 2020.
Advancing policy
Focus: Research on critical questions to advance policy & practice
Pursue needed implementation and dissemination science and health economics research, Including needed education and training for this research, in support of health policy development, implementation, and dissemination.
Engaging in regional & global collaboration
Focus: Initiatives linking CVD & NCD prevention
Undertake collaborations in major regional and global cardiovascular health and NCD initiatives, in the interest of improving cardiovascular health and reducing the burden of NCDs In the United States and globally.
