Health Promotion Practice, Standards and Activities of Local Health Departments in the United States

As the nation is moving into the 21st century, the fundamental challenge facing local health departments in the United States is to improve the quality of peoples lives by preventing disease, injury, and disability through collaboration with public and private partners. During this century, life expectancy in the United States has increased remarkably from less than 50 years at the turn of the century to 79 years for woman and 72 years for men (CDC 1999; Bunker et al. 1994). Major portions of this gain can be attributed to advances in public health. (omitted)