Setting and monitoring health objectives for the nation

Healthy People 2000 is a national effort to focus and coordinate a wide variety of efforts to improve the health and longevity of the American people. By establishing specific objectives, each with measurable targets for the year 2000, the success of programs to improve health and prevent disease can be assessed. The cancer objectives concentrate on the leading sites that account for more than half of all cancer deaths. They include risk reduction objectives to modify individuals' behaviors towards more healthful practices, and services and protection objectives to enhance counselling and early detection efforts. National surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics are in place to monitor the progress towards accomplishment of these objectives and to guide policies for effective actions.