Cover Letter to Senior Deputy Directors

Attachment 5

Cover letter to State Senior Deputy Directors

HHS Letterhead

[Date]

[Name and address of State Senior Deputy Director]

[Dear . . .]

I am writing to request your participation in a study on the Healthy People initiative. The Healthy People initiative has provided a comprehensive set of data-driven, national disease prevention and health promotion objectives with 10-year targets aimed at improving the health of all Americans since 1979. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is conducting an evaluation of the current iteration of Healthy People, Healthy People 2020, and requesting guidance on the development of the next iteration of Healthy People, Healthy People 2030.

Your participation in this study is critical to the success of this evaluation, and will provide HHS with important information on ways to improve the initiative and promote specific strategies to prevent disease and improve health at the state, tribal, and local levels. The survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. As the State Senior Deputy Director, please respond to the questions from the perspective of your state. The survey is also being sent to your state’s Healthy People Coordinator.

The information you provide on this survey will be held strictly confidential. Your organization’s identity will be separated from the responses to the survey. The information gathered will be used solely by ODPHP, or its representatives for research, and will not be disclosed or released to other persons for any purpose except as required by law.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call NORC at [toll-free number], or Caitlin Oppenheimer, MPH, the NORC Project Director, at (301) 634-9322.

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Dr. Don Wright, MD, MPH

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health

(Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services