Healthy People 2020 Essay

Healthy People 2020 is a program, which envisions a society in which people live long, healthy lives. Healthy People 2020 aims to increase public awareness and understanding of different diseases, disabilities, and how opportunities for health progression are available (HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020). The topic chosen to research in this paper is the objective to reduce the occurrence of hospitalizations for asthmatic children under the age of five. This objective was chosen due to the fact that, asthma is the most common and costly chronic disease of children in the United States. This topic in particular is one that can be improved greatly with proper public education and community awareness. Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways, which can occur at any age, but most often starts during childhood (“What Is Asthma? – NAHLBI, NIH”). In the article, The asthma prediction rule to decrease hospitalizations for children with asthma, it is stated that acute asthma exacerbations are the most frequent reason for hospitalizations of children in the United States (Arnold, Sills, & Walsh, 2016). The article continued on to reveal shocking data …show more content…
One dilemma that arises when a child is in the hospital is that they are absent from school. Many states in America determine their funding level for the different school districts by a child’s attendance record. When a child has several school absences, the funding decreases. Children who miss countless days from school due to a chronic condition or illness not only hurt themselves but they hurt the funding for their school district as well. In addition, when these children miss school on a regular basis it will affect the outcome of school accreditation. If the child ends up failing a class or a particular grade in school, it will be a poor reflection back on the teacher and the school in