Policy approaches for well-being in the US

Every decade, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issues a set of recommendations and goals for improving the health of the U.S. population. The most recent of these recommendations are enshrined in Healthy People 2030. Healthy People 2030 "sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade."1 It includes 359 measurable objectives, but as Derrick Griffith notes, none of these objectives measure well-being. So, while well-being is mentioned as a DHHS goal, it remains undefined and unmeasured in the Healthy People 2030 recommendations. The absence of this definition presents an opportunity to shape how we approach well-being and policies that can promote well-being in the American context.