Iquery (Illinois Query) –one step approach to public health data for users in Illinois

IQuery (IQuery.illinois.gov) is a web-based data query system for compiling, analyzing and disseminating public health data to local health departments, community health organizations , and the public.. When fully implemented, IQuery will provide comprehensive public health data for Illinois and its communities. A primary goal of IQuery is to expand the capability of the IPLAN (Illinois Project for the Local Assessment of Needs) Data System by offering tools that data managers can use in adding and managing their health data. Illinois Department of Public Health was awarded a five-year Assessment Initiative (AI) grant by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2007 to create a Web-based public health data center for the state. IQuery is designed to accept and disseminate data from a majority of database formats currently in use. Data is uploaded to the IQuery Repository by the data source. Data in the repository can be published on the web once it is approved, thus reducing the previous time of 12 months plus to real time (if pre-approved for publication). IQuery provides a direct path between data source and end users. It avoids any data agreement (since the data source approves its own data for publication), improves communication between the data source and the end-user and improves timeliness of data dissemination. The procedures for uploading data promotes data standards including definitions and metadata. It also encourages a collaborative environment among the owners of the data. IQuery was developed with a open source software providing flexibility in sharing data with other agencies. Currently data from fifteen programs including eleven from IDPH reside on the IQuery system. Challenges to this project have been data standardization, data formatting, designing a flexible interface that accommodates different data sets, and integrating a wide variety of data suppression rules.