This second part of the survey will establish a clear baseline that the health system will use to evaluate the effectiveness of its clinical programs, healthcare delivery system and university-affiliated community initiatives. The people being surveyed will include 600 UI Health patients with hypertension, diabetes or asthma who also will complete an extended, disease-specific questionnaire. The survey will solicit information about health-related behaviors, health care access and utilization, prevalence of disease conditions, quality of life indicators and knowledge of the ACA. UNISON Health will survey 1,400 adult residents of the 24 neighborhoods, from Humboldt Park and West Town in the north to West Lawn and Englewood in the southern corners. 'We know prevalence and mortality tend to be higher, but we don't always know why, or the extent to which this is true in our own local communities.' 'We especially don't have good information in a lot of cases about the health of the most vulnerable patients,' she adds. The university's nationally regarded Survey Research Laboratory will conduct the study.

She is leading the UNISON Health initiative in tandem with Jerry Krishnan, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and public health and associate vice president for population health sciences. 'The local health data available is limited in a variety of ways, so we want to survey our primary service area to see what the health issues are and to what extent people's health needs are being met,' says Nicole Kazee, PhD, director of health policy and programs for UI Health. It also will provide an opportunity to distribute information that will help local residents better understand the Affordable Care Act and their insurance options. Expected to begin in late summer, the University of Illinois Survey on Neighborhood Health (UNISON Health) will provide important data that will strengthen UI Health's ability to fulfill its mission to eradicate health disparities.

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is planning a comprehensive assessment of the health needs of 24 Chicago neighborhoods in its service area.

Unison health plans