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Healthy Iowans is Iowa's five-year health assessment and health improvement plan. It focuses attention on Iowa's critical issues/needs and provides a blueprint for addressing them. Healthy Iowans will link with other planning efforts, including county health improvement plans.
Healthy Iowans unites and mobilizes partners in taking action to address Iowa's critical health issues/needs.
Healthy Iowans belongs to all Iowans. Considering the broad array of factors that affect health, many partners are needed to conduct assessments and develop the health improvement plan. The role of the Iowa Department of Public Health is to coordinate this collaborative effort.
The best place to find up-to-date information on Healthy Iowans is the website, www.idph.state.ia.us/adper/healthy_iowans.asp. The Healthy Iowans Advisory Committees also serve as avenues to reach their constituencies and keep them informed. In addition, newsletter articles and memos are helping inform such partners as local public health agencies, health care providers, related public health associations, voluntary associations, schools and educators, and private sector partners.
Health improvement plans are not intended to address every health issue/need facing a community. Healthy Iowans will spotlight Iowa's most critical health issues/needs. Those actions which are important to promoting and protecting the health of Iowans, but which are not specifically outlined in the plan, are expected to continue.
Healthy People 2020 is an important resource in identifying critical health issues/needs and potential actions to address the issues/needs.
Disparate populations will be invited to participate in the process and will serve as resources in identifying critical health issues/needs and potential actions to address the issues/needs.
Healthy Iowans will be released by the end of 2011.
The actions outlined in the Healthy Iowans blueprint will include who is responsible for completing specific objectives and a timeline for completion. In addition, the Iowa Public Health Standards require the Department of Public Health to conduct an annual review of Iowa's health improvement plan.
Healthy Iowans belongs to all Iowans. It can be used by individuals or groups for various purposes. At the local level, for example, health advocates may use Healthy Iowans to improve grassroots collaborative efforts or guide policy development. Among the uses at the state level, the health department will use the plan to ensure accountability for taking action on critical health problems. Some organizations may cite Healthy Iowans in grant applications, while others may use it to focus their attention on a particular health issue/need.
