ANCHORAGE — The State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium have partnered to conduct a survey of all Alaskans on their wants, needs and vision for the future of health and health care in Alaska.

The project, known as Healthy Alaskans 2020, is designed to provide a framework to improve health for all Alaskans and their communities. Healthy Alaskans 2020 is part of the national Healthy People 2020 project to provide science-based, 10-year national objectives for ambitious yet achievable goals for improving the health of all Americans.

The process will consist of a series of surveys to identify a short list of leading health priorities, setting targets for improvement between now and 2020, and listing some evidence-based strategies to help reach those targets.

All Alaskans are welcome and encouraged to participate in the process by accessing the Healthy Alaskans 2020 website at https://ha2020.alaska.gov/ before Oct. 22, 2012, to take the initial brief 10–15 minute survey. This survey asks participants to rank the importance to them and their communities of different health related topics, such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence, immunizations or suicide prevention. Alaskans are also encouraged to register for the program’s GovDelivery email distribution list to receive updates and notice of other opportunities to stay involved throughout the process.