The people of Illinois and their representatives in government seek to assure that their children have the best possible chance at good health and long life.  Every month, policies are implemented and new ones are considered, all with the goal of providing this assurance.

Yet this work is not as strong as it could be.  When State and local authorities craft policy to maintain and enhance the health of children and adolescents, they must do so with sharply limited information.  This means, in essence, that policies are often based on "best guesses," rather than hard facts.

This need not be the case.  Several states have begun performing broad-based health interview surveys of their states' populations to more accurately identify health risks and to more fully explore ways to address threats to health.

Several key institutions in Illinois are working together to explore the feasibility of performing a suvey in Illinois, called the Illinois Health Survey.  Currently, the leading partners are focused on three goals: (1) developing a technical framework for the Illinois Health Survey; (2) developing political and financial support in the state legislature, agencies, philanthropic organizations, and health advocacy organizations, and (3) piloting the Illinois Health Survey.

The purpose of the Illinois Health Survey is to provide a predictable, reliable stream of relavent data that describes the health status and health needs of Illinoisians of all ages. 

• Local estimates (county or health region)
• Timely (at least every two years)
• Accurate (collected in a rigorous manor)
• Flexible (responding to changing health needs)
• Accessible (available to researchers, advocates and policy makers)

Progress to Date

• Surveying county health officials and health advocates about their data needs
• Passing an Illinois General Assembly House Resolution to develop a Legislative Task Force to examine the feasibility of the survey
• Development of a Technical Advisory Committee and a Survey Steering Committee
• Securing funding for a survey pilot
• Partnering with other states to secure federal funding
• Drafting Adult, Youth (0-17 years of age) and Adolescent (12-17 years of age) surveys for the pilot (see attached IHS Item Summary Table)
• Pilot to be implemented in Chicago April/May 2008