Q&A: APHA’s Georges Benjamin discusses Leading Health Indicators with HHS leader Howard Koh: Set of Healthy People 2020 objectives guiding health of nation

Healthy People 2020, a comprehensive federal roadmap of health benchmarks, puts Americans on a path to better health and wellness. The plan includes a set of 26 priority objectives known as the Leading Health Indicators. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began work in 2010 on the most recent set of Leading Health Indicators, which span 12 topic areas such as oral health, substance abuse and access to health services. Howard Koh, MD, MPH, assistant secretary for health at HHS, sat down with APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, in March to talk about the Leading Health Indicators and how communities can use them to improve health.