The University of Iowa College of Public Health has released its annual "Iowa Health Fact Book" that reports on the health and health-related behaviors of Iowans. Jacob Oleson helped put the book together, and says it breaks things down county by county, which makes it helpful for policymakers. He says the counties can look at areas where they’re doing well and areas they need to work on, so they can focus their attention and resources on those areas.
Oleson sees one trend that seems to be impacting all counties. Oleson says the state is getting older and certain health outcomes are going to be increasing. In general, he says the state seems to be doing pretty well. Oleson says there’s some evidence that efforts to improve health are starting to take some hold.
Oleson says they put some information in the book on "Healthy Iowans 2010" and he says positive gains have been made in the 16 goals presented. Oleson says there’s still a lot to do to improve the health of state residents.
Oleson says the improvement is not uniform and there are still some things that can be worked on. He says the book does not report on obesity, and says some of the mortality information is probably linked to obesity. 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 2007 edition is available on-line at the Center for Public Health Statistics website . Hard copies of the book and the CD are available free of charge while supplies last. Those who are interested should contact the Center for Public Health Statistics at 319-335-7005.