The Iowa Health Fact Book has been produced as a collaborative effort between The University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa Department of Public Health, and other interested partners working to improve the health of Iowans. Previously, the Iowa Health Fact Book had been produced in book form, and updated every two years. The previous editions can still be found in the Archive. This edition has been built as a web-friendly electronic Iowa Health Fact Book. We are excited about how this new web site will make it easier for practitioners to use, to browse, and to summarize the data that is specific to their county.
The regularly updated data within allows for the presentation of the data longitudinally, giving a picture of the changing Iowa health landscape. Where possible, the information in the book is presented for each of Iowa’s 99 counties and includes demographics and vital statistics, data on disease incidence and mortality, health and social determinants of health, health resources, and environmental factors. Whenever possible, we have included the same types of information in the same tabular and graphical format as in the past.
With this book, we present a tool that is useful to Iowa’s health care providers, health policy-makers, public health practitioners, and health researchers alike as we continually assess our needs and look for ways to enhance the overall well-being of Iowans. In addition to displaying all of the county information for each health aspect, the user can now display all of the health information for a specific county on a single page. As we continue this effort over the years, we are in a better position to track changes, measure progress, and identify areas of weakness. As with the previous editions, we present the data in a descriptive format, without analysis and/or interpretation of trends.
The interested reader is free to use these data in his/her own analyses, and is encouraged to do so with care and attention paid to analytic issues such as small counts, shifting county sizes, possible changes in the way the data are collected, or changes in definition as described in the Appendix.
The data source is given for each page of the book, with contact information for that source in the Appendix. Those responsible for collecting the data can address any questions you may have. The Appendix also includes listings of other health information resources and their contact information.
We are pleased to make this rich source of health information available to the public and hope that you find it useful.
Sincerely,
Edith A. Parker, Ph.D., Dean, College of Public Health
Jacob Oleson, Ph.D., Director Center for Public Health Statistics
Kelly Garcia, IDPH Director
