Excerpt

This report presents a national Blueprint to improve the health of persons with mental retardation (MR). The Blueprint identifies problems and solutions proposed by the community of people with MR and those who care about their health. It consists of multiple action steps that were developed by work groups at the Surgeon General's National Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation, December 5-6, 2001, in Washington, DC. The action steps are organized under six broad goals that emerged from Conference discussions and analysis of work group recommendations.

Contents

• Message from Tommy G. Thompson
• Foreword from the Surgeon General
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
  • Terms in This Report
  • Disparities and Diversity-
  • Identifying the Problems-
  • Setting the Agenda and Realizing the Goals-
  • Dual Diagnosis Research Agenda-
  • Federal Initiatives on Disabilities-
• A National Blueprint to Improve the Health of Persons with Mental Retardation
  • The National Conference -
  • Drafting the Blueprint -
  • Core Values for All Aspects of the Blueprint -
• Goals and Action Steps
  • GOAL 1: Integrate Health Promotion into Community Environments of People with Mental Retardation
  • GOAL 2: Increase Knowledge and Understanding of Health and Mental Retardation, Ensuring that Knowledge Is Made Practical and Easy to Use
  • GOAL 3: Improve the Quality of Health Care for People with Mental Retardation
  • GOAL 4: Train Health Care Providers in the Care of Adults and Children with Mental Retardation
  • GOAL 5: Ensure that Health Care Financing Produces Good Health Outcomes for Adults and Children with Mental Retardation
  • GOAL 6: Increase Sources of Health Care Services for Adults, Adolescents, and Children with Mental Retardation, Ensuring that Health Care is Easily Accessible for Them
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Surgeon General's Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation Summary of the Plenary Session of December 5, 2001: Background Presentations
  • Appendix B: Participants List
  • Appendix C: Potential Partners in Realizing the Blueprint
  • Appendix D: Health Disparities and Mental Retardation: Programs and Creative Strategies to Close the Gap
  • Appendix E: Summary of the Surgeon General's Listening Session on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation
  • Appendix F: Surgeon General's Listening Session on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation

Suggested citation:

U.S. Public Health Service. Closing the Gap: A National Blueprint for Improving the Health of Individuals with Mental Retardation. Report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Health Disparities and Mental Retardation. February 2001. Washington, D.C.