The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Smoke Free Homes Registry, which was launched in 2012, has reached 1,000 properties. In order to be entered in the registry, a property must have at least one building that is 100 percent smoke free and must have this specified in the lease language. “The best way to protect against exposure to secondhand smoke is to make sure the places we live and work are smoke free,” said IDPH Division of Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Director Jerilyn Oshel. “Globally, 6 million people die each year due to tobacco-related causes and 600,000 of those are people die from secondhand smoke.”

The mild spring with frequent rains means tick-borne disease season is underway in Iowa. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reminds Iowans to protect themselves against tick bites. Ticks can carry the organisms that cause diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichiosis. 

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) yearly HIV Disease Surveillance Report shows in 2016, Iowa experienced the largest number of people diagnosed with HIV since reporting by name began in 1989. Additionally, there was a notable increase in black/African American Iowans diagnosed with HIV in 2016. U.S.-born blacks/African Americans diagnosed with HIV increased by 75 percent from 2015; foreign-born blacks/African Americans diagnosed with HIV increased by 110 percent. Although black/African Americans represent just 3 percent of Iowa’s general population, they make up 32 percent of all HIV diagnoses.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has been awarded $5.45 million dollars over two years to address prescription opioid abuse and drug poisoning deaths. The funds, made available by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), are part of the U.S. Health and Human Services Opioid Initiative through the 21st Century Cures Act.

According to a 2016 survey by Feeding America, nearly 81,000 older Iowans (age 60 and over) are estimated to be “food insecure,” that is, they do not have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) is a co-sponsor of the Growing Bolder Hunger Summit, scheduled for May 9, 2017, at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, where this issue will be examined.