Health in All Policies
HiaP
It’s almost impossible to name a policy that does not impact public health. The Health in All Policies (HiAP) Alliance, co-led by the UIC School of Public Health (SPH) and the Illinois Department of Public Health, was established through state policy to address this simple fact. Charged with examining resident health, reviewing legislation, defining a public health framework, and reporting its findings and recommendations annually to the Illinois General Assembly, the Alliance is dedicated to advancing health equity through policy, practice and partnership.
The Alliance convenes leadership from 22 state and local health and community organizations to facilitate cross-sector communication and empower community and health partners to improve population health.
“Health in All Policies is a transformative approach that recognizes the profound impact decisions across all sectors of society can have on public health,” said SPH Dean Wayne H. Giles, MD, MS. “We are proud to help lead this coordinated, community-engaged effort to build healthier communities.”
The Alliance’s work is closely aligned with the State Health Assessment (SHA) and State Health Improvement Plan, collectively referred to as Healthy Illinois 2028, which prioritizes behavioral health, chronic disease, maternal and child health, emerging diseases (such as COVID-19 and Monkeypox), and racism as a public health crisis.
Although its legislative mandate calls out 10 specific areas centered on the social and structural determinants of health for examination, the Alliance explores other timely issues that affect the health of the residents of Illinois, emphasizing the overarching connection between health and a wide variety of policy outcomes. For example, the Health in All Policies 2024 report centered on aspects of neighborhood and built environment as an accompaniment to current state plans for revitalization and economic expansion. Recommendations emphasized the elevation of community voice in interventions that enable active living, access to care and supportive services, access to healthy food, and environmental justice. The lens of this and prior HiAP reports on affordable housing and homelessness and health disparities reduction is decidedly focused on health equity and social justice, the grounding principles of the group’s work.
The Alliance’s efforts not only move us closer to the goal of making Illinois the healthiest state in the nation, but represents a unique opportunity to engage subject matter experts across the School of Public Health and UIC in evidence-based policy advocacy. In addition to faculty and staff, one to three public health interns are onboarded each year to assist with the annual report and communications, providing students with learning experiences that help them become more effective public health leaders.
Health in All Policies underscores the need for policies that actively support health, and the importance of collaborating across sectors to ensure equitable outcomes for all. It is one of many innovative approaches UIC’s School of Public Health is involved in to bolster public health infrastructure, ensuring voices from across the spectrum of the community are heard, while training the next generation of public health leaders
Health In All Policies Interns at SPH
2022-2023: Laura Pangelinian, MPH ’23, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Jacqueline Silva, MPH ’24, Health Policy & Administration
2023-2024: Michael McGovern, MD/MPH ’24, Population Health Hannah Norris, MPH ’24, Community Health Sciences Jacqueline Silva, MPH ’24, Health Policy & Administration
2024-2025: Tynetta Hill, MPH ’24, Community Health Sciences Michael Lukas, MD/MPH ’25, Population Health Pavani Punnam, MPH ’25, Community Health Sciences