Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of people nationwide. Healthy People 2030 includes three types of objectives — core, developmental, and research — developed by workgroups made up of subject matter experts in specific topics.

Research objectives represent public health issues with a high health or economic burden or significant disparities between population groups that aren't yet associated with evidence-based interventions and need reliable baseline data. If a research objective evolves to meet these criteria, a Healthy People workgroup may propose that it become a core objective, which is tracked over the decade to measure progress. Research objectives may also be added throughout the decade to address emerging issues.

These objectives can help investigators identify research needs, focus on key priority populations, and develop evidence-based interventions that improve health and well-being across the lifespan.