Between October 18–21, this website will move to a new web address (from health.gov to odphp.health.gov). During that time, some functions might not work as expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we’re working to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Previous Initiatives

Ever since Congress created ODPHP in 1976 to lead the nation’s disease prevention and health promotion efforts, our goal has been to decrease people’s risk of developing serious health conditions — and to help people manage existing conditions so they don’t get worse over time.

Learn about our previous initiatives:

National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections 

To recognize health care-associated infections (HAIs) as an important public health and patient safety issue, ODPHP has supported efforts to reduce HAIs nationwide

Learn more about the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care Associated-Infections and the targets and metrics used to assess progress.

National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention

Most adverse drug events (ADEs) are preventable — which is why ODPHP has prioritized reducing ADEs across the nation.

Learn more about the National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention.

2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

ODPHP released the first edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in 2008. Since then, we’ve released updated editions based on the latest science.

Check out the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines and the 2013 Midcourse Report.

Past Editions of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the first edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 1980. 

Check out past editions of the Dietary Guidelines.

Healthy People 2020

ODPHP launched the first iteration of the Healthy People initiative in 1990 and has released a new iteration every decade since. Healthy People 2030, the current iteration of the initiative, follows Healthy People 2020.

Learn more about Healthy People 2020.