Consensus set of health status indicators for the general assessment of community health status--United States.

Healthy People 2000 establishes a framework for the development of an explicit prevention program for the nation (1); the Year 2000 Health Objectives Planning Act* provides legislative support for such a program. To address both the requirements of that act and Objective 22.1 of Healthy People 2000, a consensus set of 18 health status indicators has been developed to assist communities in assessing their general health status and in focusing local, state, and national efforts in tracking the year 2000 objectives. Priority in selecting the indicators was given to measures for which data are readily available and that are commonly used in public health.