Nation Chided for Being Lax on Health of U.S. Public Health
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. public health system is sick and will get sicker unless Americans stop taking it for granted and demand more from themselves and their leaders, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded today.
“We have slackened our public health vigilance nationally and the health of the public is unnecessarily threatened as a result,” said the report by the academy’s Institute of Medicine.
The 218-page report offers a blueprint for structural changes and attitude shifts at federal, state and local levels to shore up the system.
The panel cited AIDS and access to health care for the indigent as examples of “immediate crises.”
At the same time, it said, lingering problems “with equally great significance for the health of the public and the well-being of our society require continuing attention.”
It cited the problems of accidental injuries, which kill 140,000 of the 70 million Americans hurt each year; teen-age pregnancy; high blood pressure, which afflicts about 60 million Americans and makes them susceptible to strokes and heart disease; and smoking and substance abuse.
The report also cited toxic substances and Alzheimer’s disease as “time bombs” that will require increasing attention.
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