Final answer:
The best example of a Healthy People 2020 goal is option a, which focuses on ensuring equal care for all genders during suspected heart attacks, reflecting the initiative's aim to eliminate health disparities.
Step-by-step explanation:
Among the options provided, the one that exemplifies a goal of the Healthy People 2020 initiative is: a. Women and men will receive equally aggressive care for suspected heart attack. This directly relates to the initiative's goal of eliminating gender and race disparities in health care. In contrast, options b, c, and d, while potentially contributing to health outcomes, are more specific actions that do not encapsulate the broad goals of the Healthy People 2020 initiative.
Healthy People 2020 aims to create a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. This includes, but is not limited to, reducing health disparities, which concern the differences in health outcomes between different communities, often driven by social, economic, and environmental disadvantage. A critical aspect of reducing these disparities is ensuring that all individuals, irrespective of gender, race, or socioeconomic status, receive equitable health care treatment and prevention resources.
Efforts to improve health disparities must be systematic and sustainable, focusing on increasing health literacy and fostering informed decision-making among diverse populations to achieve better health outcomes. This is crucial in a country like the United States where disparities have persisted due to various factors, including racial and socioeconomic inequalities.