The fact book, available in both printed and electronic formats, assembles health data on areas such as prenatal and infant health, infectious diseases, cancer and other chronic diseases, injury, and childhood blood lead poisoning. Population totals and age distributions as well as health and social behaviors are also presented. In most cases, data are presented at the county level.

The book includes an update of several leading goals of Healthy Iowans 2010, a state-specific strategic plan to help improve the health of Iowans. The book also provides a geographic distribution of health care providers and health care facilities throughout the state. Much of the data are tracked longitudinally so that readers can follow how Iowans have changed over time.

Jane Pendergast, PhD, UI professor of biostatistics, and Jacob Oleson, PhD, UI assistant professor of biostatistics, led development of the publication on behalf of the UI Center for Public Health Statistics. Jill France, chief of the Bureau of Health Statistics, and Deb Roeder, the bureau's project manager, led development on behalf of the Iowa Department of Public Health.

The book serves Iowa's health care providers, health policymakers, public health practitioners and health educators and researchers by providing them with current statewide data.

"For many, it is an important and basic tool for use in Iowa's counties to track their health progress and how they relate to other counties on specific concerns," Oleson said. "It helps them determine where they are making progress over time and where they need to direct or redirect efforts."

Data were collected from state and national sources, including the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The UI-based State Health Registry of Iowa, the Iowa Registry for Congenital and Inherited Disorders, and the Office of Statewide Clinical Education Programs also provided data and analyses.

For more information:

College of Public Health

Iowa Department of Public Health

Jane Pendergast, PhD

Jacob Oleson, PhD

Iowa Health Fact Book