IPLAN - The Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Need

The Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs or IPLAN is a community health assessment and planning process. The assessment and planning process is done every five years by each local health department (LHD) in Illinois. By completing IPLAN, the LHD fulfills most of the requirements for certification as required under the Illinois Administrative Code Section 600.400: Certified Local Health Department Code Public Health Practices Standards. The model for IPLAN comes from the Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public Health (APEX-PH).

The following is a description of the components of IPLAN:

1. Organizational Capacity Assessment
Each LHD completes an internal assessment to determine organizational weaknesses and strengths. Objectives and a plan to address the identified weaknesses are completed at the end of the process.

2. Community Health Needs Assessment
The needs assessment involves collection of demographic, social, and health data about county residents. From this data, representatives from the community work together to identify priority health problems.

3. Development of a Community Health Plan
Based on the three health priorities of most concern, a community health plan is written. The plan includes description of the impact of the health problems on the community, risk and contributing factors leading to the problem and community resources available to address the problem. Objectives and intervention strategies are developed to lessen the problem. The final step in the IPLAN process is approval of the plan by the local board of health.

The Jersey County IPLAN is available for review at the Jersey County Health Department. IPLAN health priorities for Jersey County and all Illinois Counties can be found on the IPLAN web site at http://app.idph.state.il.us/

Past and Current IPLAN Health Priorities for Jersey County

1994-1999
1. Heart Disease
2. Maternal-Child Health Morbidity and Mortality
3. Respiratory Mortality

2000-2004
1. Heart Disease
2. Respiratory Disease
3. Alcohol Related Motor Vehicle Accidents

2005-2010
1. Cardiovascular Disease (Coronary Artery Disease and Stroke)
2. Cancers (Lung and Colorectal)
3. Drug and Alcohol Related Motor Vehicle Accidents

For more information please contact your local health department - 618-498-9565.