The aggregate of all purposeful activities designed to improve personal and public health through a combination of strategies, including the competent implementation of behavioral change strategies, health education, risk factor detection, health enhancement, and health maintenance.
A report by the U.S. Surgeon General in 1979 that presented five major goals of health for the United States; (a) to continue to improve infant health, and by 1990, to reduce infant mortality by at least 35% to fewer than nine deaths per 1000 live births; (b) to improve child health, foster optimum childhood development, and by 1990, reduce deaths among children 1-14 years by at least 20% to fewer than 34 per 100,000; (c) to improve the health and health habits of adolescents and young adults, and by 1990, to reduce deaths among people aged 15-24 years by at least 20% to fewer than 93 per 100,000; (d) to improve the health of adults, and by 1990, to reduce deaths among people aged 25-64 years by at least 25% to fewer than 400 per 100,000; (e) to improve the health and quality of life for older adults, and by 1990, to reduce the average annual number of days of restricted activity due to acute and chronic conditions by 20% to fewer than 30 days per year for people aged 65 years and older. Now called healthy people, the goals are updated in 10-year cycles.