Health impact assessment (HIA) represents a new approach to the evaluation of social, economic and environmental policies, programmes and projects. Its importance has been by the Health Strategy, "Quality and Fairness a health system for you. "
What is health impact assessment?
HIA can be defined as the estimation of the effects of a specified action on the health of a defined population. Its purpose is to assess the potential health impacts - positive and negative - of policies, programmes and projects; and to improve the quality of public policy decision making through recommendations to enhance predicted positive health impacts and minimise negative ones.
What can HIA offer?
HIA's strength lies in providing a tool which enables informed policy decisions to be made based on a valid assessment of their potential health impacts, at the same time adding health awareness to policy making at every level. In the longer term it has the potential to make concern for improving public health the norm and a routine part of all public policy development.
HIA has much in common with the more established environmental impact assessment and, although it draws on a number of traditional research methods, it is more than just a monitoring and evaluation tool. HIA aims to provide a practical framework for identifying health impacts and ways of addressing them.
Key principles of HIA
- A social model of health and well-being
- An explicit focus on equity and social justice
- A multidisciplinary, participatory approach
- The use of qualitative as well as quantitative evidence
- Explicit values and openness to public scrutiny
What can we do?
The role of the Health Intelligence Function is to focus on the methodology of HIA, to assess and review current and potential future tools used in conducting and in evaluating HIAs and to offer guidance on appropriate use of HIA.
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Last updated on: 25 / 03 / 2009