Recognizing Need for Better Prevention

To support the development of a statewide agenda for health and wellness, The Duke Endowment helped fund a 15-month task force in 2008 to research, study and improve public health by focusing on prevention.

Challenge

Utilizing data from America's Health Rankings, the North Carolina Institute of Medicine reports that the state ranks 45th in infant mortality and childhood obesity, 40th in life expectancy at birth, 38th in years of life lost — a measure of how long people might have lived had they not died prematurely from preventable illness — and 36th in overall health rankings and deaths. As health worsens, costs to the individual and the system are rising.

Chronic illness, such as heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease, are leading causes of disability and death for adults. Injuries are the leading cause of death for younger people. Prevention is the best and least expensive way to preserve health, but spending in North Carolina (as in other states) is skewed toward paying for therapeutic procedures that treat acute problems or manage chronic illness. North Carolina has not invested heavily in community interventions that keep healthy people healthy, or prevent others from becoming unhealthier.

Response

To improve the health of North Carolinians and reduce disparities in the health care system, the Task Force will work to:

• Examine preventable, underlying causes of death and morbidity, including alcohol and drug use, bacteria and infectious agents, diet, physical inactivity, obesity, emotional and psychological factors, exposure to chemicals and environmental pollutants, risky sexual behavior and tobacco use.
• Analyze systemic health disparities, including infant mortality.
• Develop comprehensive prevention strategies targeting personal behavior, community and environment, clinical care, public and health policy.
• Determine priorities for prevention strategies based on evidence-based interventions.

In addition to the Endowment, project supporters include:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation
• Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust
• North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund

Participating Sites in North Carolina

• North Carolina Institute of Medicine, Morrisville
• North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Raleigh

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Vice President
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