Iowa Youth Health Assessment Program

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Program Overview
Data for Health Equity
Iowa Youth Survey (IYS)

Iowa Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
Iowa School Health Profiles

Program Overview

Created in 2019, the Iowa Youth Health Assessment Program originally administered three surveys related to student health. Together these surveys provided necessary data for state and community stakeholders to make data-driven funding, policy and program decisions. The surveys are the Iowa Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), Iowa Youth Survey (IYS), and School Health Profiles.

Iowa will not participate in the 2023 Iowa YRBS. The 2023 Iowa Youth Survey will be administered in Fall 2023. Iowa will participate in the 2024 School Health Profiles in the Spring.

Administered every two years, the Iowa Youth Survey and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey are the most frequently used sources of data on key behaviors impacting youth health in Iowa. Data are used at the school, county, state, and national levels to inform policy and funding, to develop program strategy, and for surveillance and research purposes.

Data for Health Equity

The Iowa Youth Health Assessment Program is committed to promoting health equity by collecting, stratifying and disseminating data that identify disparities, help set priorities and contribute to improved health outcomes for young people living in Iowa. Please see YRBS and IYS data reports for current information on health disparities experienced by subpopulations of Iowa youth.

Iowa Youth Survey (IYS)

Every two years, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) partners with Iowa school districts to administer the Iowa Youth Survey (IYS). The IYS is an important source of data on adolescent health behaviors and experiences. For decades, Iowa schools and parents have supported participation in the IYS. Hundreds of thousands of Iowa adolescents have shared information on their health-related experiences. The 2023 Iowa Youth Survey will take place September 25 – November 3, 2023.

Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are regional service agencies, which provide school improvement services for students, families, teachers, administrators and their communities. This includes planning and programming in the areas of safe, healthy, and caring learning environments. At the time of the administration of the 2008 Iowa Youth Survey, there were 10 AEAs.

The AEA reports are designed to help planners identify youth development-related needs, develop relevant programs, and assess the outcomes of those programs. These data can help you better understand the young people residing in your area and their needs. They can also help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the schools, families, and communities in your area from the student’s perspective.

Given that 11th graders are much more likely to be substance abusers than either 6th or 8th graders, any significant discrepancy between the proportion of 11th grade students and the other grades who took part in the youth surveys would produce a distorted total estimate for that service area (i.e., a larger proportion of 11th graders and a smaller proportion of 6th and 8th graders would produce an artificially high total substance use estimate in that service area). To reduce this bias, statistical weighting procedures were used. Please refer to each report for a description of the weighting procedure used in that survey year.

Area Education Agency (AEA) Youth Survey Reports:

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Keystone AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Prairie Lakes AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Mississippi Bend AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Grant Wood AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Heartland AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Northwest AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Green Hills AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Great Prairie AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Central River AEA Results

All Area Education Agency (AEA) Youth Survey Reports can be found on the Iowa Publications Online website.