Mental Illness Surveillance Among Adults in the United States, Research Paper Example

Assessing Populations

The top four health issues for the population discussed in this paper are substance abuse, overweight and obesity, access to health and mental health

Substance Abuse

Alcohol and drugs are occasionally used in the wrong manner in the society. This involves the use of drugs legally or illegally and excessive consumption of alcohol that may lead to addiction and this translates to substance abuse. The SA-13.1 objective of Healthy People 2020 entails tracking down adolescents of age 12 to 17 years who have misused alcohol and drugs during the last 30 days.

Overweight and Obesity

An obese and overweight individual has higher chances for hypertension, heart attacks, respiratory complications, various types of cancer and type two diabetes among others that are a possible cause of death (Murphy, Xu & Kochanek, 2013).  Healthy People 2020 advocates for health benefits associated with healthy diets and maintenance of healthier body weight and policies that promote such behaviors in schools, health care facilities, the workplace and the entire communities.

Access to healthcare

Most people are unable to access the basic and mandatory health services that are needed to improve the quality of life. The objectives of Healthy People 2020 are to avail high quality of health services in a comprehensive manner to the community. This ensures equity in health services leading to enhancement of the quality of life for all people in the society

Mental Health

Most people suffer from dementia that is not an integral part in the process of aging and it is a significant contributor to depression (Reeves, Strine & Pratt  et al., 2011).  This is just one example of the many mental health problems that are encountered in the society. In this regard, Healthy People 2020 aspires to enhance the mental health in the society through appropriate measure of prevention and availing the most suitable and high quality of mental health services.

References

Murphy,  S.L., Xu  J.Q. & Kochanek,  K.D., (2013).  Deaths: final data for 2010. Natl Vital Stat Rep., 61(4):1-118.

Reeves, W.C., Strine, T.W. & Pratt, L.A, et al., (2011). Mental illness surveillance among adults in the United States. MMWR., 60(3):1–32. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.