The 20th Century's Ten Great Public Health Achievements in the United States*
-
Vaccination
Programs of population-wide vaccinations resulted in the eradication of
smallpox; elimination of polio in the Americas; and control of
measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b,
and other infectious diseases in the United States and other parts of
the world.
-
Motor-vehicle safety
Improvements in
motor-vehicle safety have contributed to large reductions in motor-vehicle-related deaths. These improvements
include engineering efforts to make both vehicles and highways safer
and successful efforts to change personal behavior (e.g., increased use
of safety belts, child safety seats, and motorcycle helmets and
decreased drinking and driving).
-
Safer workplaces
Work-related health problems, such as
coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung), and silicosis -- common at the
beginning of the century -- have been significantly reduced. Severe injuries
and deaths related to mining, manufacturing, construction,
and transportation also have decreased; since 1980, safer workplaces
have resulted in a reduction of approximately 40% in the rate of
fatal occupational injuries.
-
Control of infectious diseases
Control of infectious diseases has resulted from clean water and better
sanitation. Infections such as typhoid and cholera, major causes of illness and
death early in the 20th century, have been reduced dramatically by
improved sanitation. In addition, the discovery of antimicrobial therapy
has been critical to successful public health efforts to control
infections such as tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs).
-
Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
Decline in deaths from
coronary heart disease and stroke have resulted from risk-factor
modification, such as smoking cessation and blood pressure control coupled
with improved access to early detection and better treatment. Since
1972, death rates for coronary heart disease has decreased 51%.
-
Safer and healthier foods
Since 1900, safer and healthier foods have resulted
from decreases in microbial contamination and increases in nutritional
content. Identifying essential micronutrients and establishing
food-fortification programs have almost eliminated major nutritional
deficiency diseases such as rickets, goiter, and pellagra in the United
States.
-
Healthier mothers and babies
Healthier mothers and babies are a result of
better hygiene and nutrition, availability of antibiotics, greater
access to health care, and technologic advances in maternal and neonatal
medicine. Since 1900, infant mortality has decreased 90%, and maternal
mortality has decreased 99%.
-
Family planning
Access to family planning and contraceptive
services has altered social and economic roles of women. Family planning
has provided health benefits such as smaller family size and longer
interval between the birth of children; increased opportunities for
preconceptional counseling and screening; fewer infant, child, and
maternal deaths; and the use of barrier contraceptives to prevent
pregnancy and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and other
STDs.
-
Fluoridation of drinking water
Fluoridation of drinking water began in 1945 and
in 1999 reaches an estimated 144 million persons in the United
States. Fluoridation safely and inexpensively benefits both children and
adults by effectively preventing tooth decay, regardless of
socioeconomic status or access to care. Fluoridation has played an important role
in the reductions in tooth decay (40%-70% in children) and of tooth loss
in adults (40%-60%).
-
Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard in 1964 has resulted
in changes in the promotion of cessation of use, and reduction of exposure
to environmental tobacco smoke. Since the initial Surgeon General's report on the
health risks of smoking, the prevalence of smoking among adults has
decreased, and millions of smoking-related deaths have been prevented.
*Courtesy of CDC's MMWR Web Page
|
|
