By Sasha Dillavou

Goals from injury prevention to reducing unintended pregnancies are among the “10 Winnable Battles,” identified Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

“Many public health and environmental health agencies at the local level already have embraced certain of these battles where they will be focusing some of their efforts in the next few years,” said Chris Urbina, executive director and chief medical officer for the Department of Public Health and the Environment. “In addition, we are working with our counterparts at the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to coordinate our efforts in these areas.”

The “10 Winnable Battles” include clean air, clean water, infectious disease prevention, mental health and substance abuse, obesity, oral health, safe food and tobacco as well as injury prevention and unintended pregnancy.

“Colorado’s local public health officials are excited to work with our many state-agency partners to address the winnable public health battles. These state level battles will help guide prioritization in our local communities and keep us connected to our neighboring agencies across the state,” said Jeff Kuhr, public health director, Mesa County Health Department.

The department used health data measurements to identify the winnable battles and will track progress through measurements of health outcomes and environmental progress.