7 things to know about CDC's 'Winnable Battles'

On Monday, the CDC released a final report on the agency's Winnable Battles program, an initiative launched to address public health threats in the United States.

The CDC began the program in 2010 after progress on some public health problems showed signs of stagnation. Through the campaign, the agency created ambitious targets it aimed to achieve by 2015.

Here are seven things to know about the CDC's Winnable Battles.

1. The seven threats addressed by the initiative were tobacco use, nutrition, physical activity and obesity, food safety, healthcare-associated infections, motor vehicle safety, teen pregnancy and HIV.

2. Efforts proved successful at lowering rates of tobacco use, exceeding progress goals set for 2015. The initiative helped reduce the percentage of adults and youth who smoke by more than 17.5 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Additionally, the agency also exceeded its goal of increasing the proportion of the U.S. population covered by smoke-free laws by 59 percent.

3. The program was not particularly successful at improving food safety and reducing childhood obesity. The CDC did not meet its 2015 target of achieving a 12.4 percent reduction in foodborne illness caused by Salmonella. The goal of decreasing the number of children and adolescents who are obese by 8 percent was also not achieved.

4. Though final data is still being collected, it appears the CDC made strong progress in the area of HAI reduction. The targets of 60 percent reductions in both central line-associated blood stream infections and healthcare-associated invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus are on track to be achieved.

5. Despite the reductions of MRSA and central-line infections in the healthcare setting, the CDC did not achieve its target of reducing the rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in hospitals by 30 percent.

6. Teen birth rates decreased by more than 20 percent from 2010 to 2015, exceeding targeted expectations.

7. HIV initiatives provided mixed results. While efforts are on track to increase the percentage of people living with HIV who know their positive status by 11 percent, the goal of reducing overall HIV diagnoses by 25 percent was not met.

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