DOI: 10.3886/e243130v1
title: Healthy People 2020 Final Progress Table

description: [1] Status is determined using the baseline, final, and target value. The statuses used in Healthy People 2020 were:

1 - Target met or exceeded—One of the following applies: (i) At baseline, the target was not met or exceeded, and the most recent value was equal to or exceeded the target. (The percentage of targeted change achieved was equal to or greater than 100%.); (ii) The baseline and most recent values were equal to or exceeded the target. (The percentage of targeted change achieved was not assessed.)

2 - Improved—One of the following applies: (i) Movement was toward the target, standard errors were available, and the percentage of targeted change achieved was statistically significant; (ii) Movement was toward the target, standard errors were not available, and the objective had achieved 10% or more of the targeted change.

3 - Little or no detectable change—One of the following applies: (i) Movement was toward the target, standard errors were available, and the percentage of targeted change achieved was not statistically significant; (ii) Movement was toward the target, standard errors were not available, and the objective had achieved less than 10% of the targeted change; (iii) Movement was away from the baseline and target, standard errors were available, and the percent change relative to the baseline was not statistically significant; (iv) Movement was away from the baseline and target, standard errors were not available, and the objective had moved less than 10% relative to the baseline; (v) No change was observed between the baseline and the final data point.

4 - Got worse—One of the following applies: (i) Movement was away from the baseline and target, standard errors were available, and the percent change relative to the baseline was statistically significant; (ii) Movement was away from the baseline and target, standard errors were not available, and the objective had moved 10% or more relative to the baseline.

5 - Baseline only—The objective only had one data point, so progress toward target attainment could not be assessed. Note that if additional data points did not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality, the objective was categorized as baseline only.

6 - Informational—A target was not set for this objective, so progress toward target attainment could not be assessed.


[2] The final value is generally based on data available on the Healthy People 2020 website as of January 2020. For objectives that are continuing into Healthy People 2030, more recent data are available on the Healthy People 2030 website: https://health.gov/healthypeople.


[3] For objectives that moved toward their targets, movement toward the target was measured as the percentage of targeted change achieved (unless the target was already met or exceeded at baseline):

Percentage of targeted change achieved = (Final value - Baseline value) / (HP2020 target - Baseline value) * 100


[4] For objectives that were not improving, did not meet or exceed their targets, and did not move towards their targets, movement away from the baseline was measured as the magnitude of the percent change from baseline:

Magnitude of percent change from baseline = |Final value - Baseline value| / Baseline value * 100


[5] Statistical significance was tested when the objective had a target, at least two data points (of unequal value), and available standard errors of the data. A normal distribution was assumed. All available digits were used to test statistical significance. Statistical significance of the percentage of targeted change achieved or the magnitude of the percentage change from baseline was assessed at the 0.05 level using a normal one-sided test.


[6] For more information on the Healthy People 2020 methodology for measuring progress toward target attainment and the elimination of health disparities, see: Healthy People Statistical Notes, no 27; available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/statnt/statnt27.pdf.

NOTE: Measurable objectives have baseline data.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, Healthy People 2020 database.
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