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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the final report on the Winnable Battles program which highlights public health priorities with large-scale impact on health and strategies that may help to address them.
Winnable Battles addresses 7 U.S. public health threats where working with partners could make an immediate impact:
- Tobacco
- Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity
- Food Safety
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Motor Vehicle Safety
- Teen Pregnancy
- HIV
Launched in 2010, the Winnable Battles project tackled public health problems where progress appeared to be stalling (eg, smoking).Through Winnable Battles, the CDC could make an effort with partners to boost stalled challenges or help move along challenges that were already improving. State and local public health professionals, policy makers, and healthcare professionals have further adopted the Winnable Battles process in programs in efforts to improve health outcomes.
Since 2010, some of the achievements have met or exceeded the original goals, whereas some areas have seen little or no progress. Significant reductions have been seen in tobacco-related harms. From 2009 to 2015, adult cigarette smokingdecreased by 27% and youth cigarette smoking decreased by 45%. The report also highlighted that there are 10 million fewer smokers than in 2009. Since 2007, teen birth rates have decreased 46%, reaching an all-time low. Challenges in obesity, foodborne illness, and reduction of HIV diagnoses have demonstrated less progress.
The final data will be available in the coming years but the CDC anticipates meeting 3 of the 4 goals set in reducing certain healthcare-associated infections and increasing the percent of patients who know their HIV status.
The full Winnable Battles report can be found here.
For more information visit CDC.gov.
