An Overview of Programs and Initiatives Sponsored by DHHS to Promote Healthy Aging: A Background Paper for the Blueprint on Aging for the 21st Century Technical Advisory Group Meeting

The primary purpose of this paper is to highlight current federal health promotion and disease prevention activities targeted for older persons. This material is organized by grouping activities into four topics that a panel of federal officials felt would help structure the discussions at the TAG meeting. The authors felt that by organizing federal activities into topic areas, it would be easier to identify gaps, discuss challenges for the future, and identify how best to use the expert panels to validate, inform, or further debate priorities and recommendations for the future. This paper focuses on activities that have been conducted by the Federal Government in the following four topic areas: (1) translating health promotion and disease prevention research into practice; (2) health promotion and disease prevention strategies to maintain or enhance both cognitive and affective mental functioning among older persons; (3) effective health promotion and disease prevention programs for older persons; and (4) HHS data collection activities related to the health behaviors of older Americans. [50 PDF pages]