scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment and City Council Policy: Identifying Opportunities to Address Local Social Determinants of Health & Place-Health Relationships, 10 Years Later

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Petteway ◽  
Shannon Cosgrove

Background: Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be used to assess any type of policy/program related to social determinants (SDH).  However, local public health departments (LHDs) have been slow to adopt formal use of HIA in efforts to address local SDH, even with growing evidence linking SDH and place-health relationships. Ten years ago we completed a review of Baltimore City Council policies to advance this conversation within the LHD. Our goal here is to revisit this review and, again, outline a process by which LHDs can: a) monitor local policies in regard to SDH and b) identify opportunities for potential HIA use. Methods:  We reviewed all policies introduced into Baltimore City Council in calendar years 2008 and 2009. We reviewed each policy to identify those with potential health impacts. We then categorized these policies as: a) “explicitly health-related” or b) “related to SDH.” We then tabulated the number and sub-types of these policies that were referred for LHD review. Results: We identified and reviewed 597 total policies. 89 policies (15%) were identified as “explicitly health-related,” 34 (38%) of which were referred for LHD review. 208 policies (35%) were identified as “related to SDH,” 13 (6%) of which were reviewed. Overall, 297 (50%) policies were identified as having potential health impacts, 47 (16%) of which were reviewed. Conclusion: This work represents a potentially replicable process to identify HIA opportunities, and potential launch point for health-in-all-policies efforts. In Baltimore, it facilitated dialogue with Baltimore City officials and led to the LHD’s first HIA grant.

Author(s):  
Cristina Casajuana Kögel ◽  
Tània Rodríguez Peña ◽  
Isabel Sánchez ◽  
Montserrat Tobella ◽  
José Alonso López ◽  
...  

Introduction: The Interdepartamental Public Health Plan of Catalonia (2014) seeks to enforce Health in All Policies (HiAP) at the regional and local levels. Within this context, the City Council of Sant Andreu de la Barca (SAB), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB), and the Public Health Agency of Catalonia started a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of an urbanistic redesign of the Llobregat fluvial area in SAB, the results of which are presented in this paper. Methodology: In 2018, after a HIA screening, a prospective nonquantitative HIA was conducted. Politicians, professionals, and citizens participated in identifying potential impacts. Impacts were prioritized and linked to health determinants, scientific evidence, and potentially affected social groups. Afterwards, recommendations were formulated in order to improve the health impacts of the project. Finally, indicators were selected to evaluate HIA implementation. Results: The HIA was successfully implemented with the participation of technicians and citizens of SAB. The health impacts identified were mainly related to environmental, public safety, lifestyle, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Ten recommendations were defined to minimize the potential negative health impacts of the project, with six of them directly included and only one dismissed due to incompatibility. Conclusion: A HIA was successfully carried out in the medium-sized town of Catalonia, promoting Health in all Policies at a local level and improving health impacts of an urbanistic project.


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Maxwell ◽  
Patrick Harris ◽  
Sharon Peters ◽  
Mark Thornell ◽  
Leah D'Souza

A prospective health impact assessment (HIA) was conducted to identify potential health impacts arising from the planned redevelopment of Liverpool Hospital, a major teaching hospital in New South Wales, Australia. A multidisciplinary team of health professionals oversaw the HIA and a core project team led by population health practitioners conducted the HIA using a structured, stepwise process. Methods used to gather data for the identification of impacts were a literature review, development of a population profile and consultation with stakeholders. A range of positive and negative health impacts were identified and an assessment matrix was used to prioritise the health impacts and develop recommendations for the proponents of the redevelopment plan.The HIA added value to the planning process for the hospital redevelopment, increasing capacity to conduct future HIAs.


Author(s):  
Da-Costa Aboagye ◽  
Kwame Akuffo ◽  
Hafiz T. A. Khan

It has long been recognized that health and its determinants are strongly influenced by policies, programs, and projects outside of the health care sector. Few countries have introduced health impact assessments (HIA) to try and ensure that probable impacts on health are considered. An appropriate health impact assessment regime will identify negative and positive impacts of proposed health policies and programs on health, enable the interpretation of health risk and potential health gain, and present the information to assist in decision making. These HIAs are often generic and rapid desk–based appraisals characterized by the use of information and evidence that is already available or easily accessible and generally undertaken by administrators in an organization to gain a snapshot of the health impacts to inform proposal direction. Rapid and generic desk–based assessments require less-intensive effort and resources and draws on existing data sources from scientific peer-reviewed and gray literature to analyze potential health impacts. However, both sources can also be used to determining whether a more detailed review is necessary. The Community HIA model proposed by this work departs from the generic and rapid desk–based appraisals and is intended to provide practical evidence to give higher priority to people’s viewpoints, promote participation, understanding and incorporate community voices to help shape future policy, programs, and practice. A comprehensive review of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was carried out using the generic desk–based HIA approach. This was followed by a practical qualitative community field work. In this research, we have demonstrated how community HIA is to be conducted through an actual case study in the Ghanaian West African context. The scope of this work is wide and incorporates the consideration of key concepts and possible methods for carrying out HIA at the community level.


Author(s):  
Margaret Douglas ◽  
Ben Cave

By reading this chapter, you will become familiar with: the definition and purpose of health impact assessment (HIA); concepts and values that underpin?HIA; the stages of an HIA process; methods used in?HIA; experiences of?HIA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Green

Abstract On March 29th 2019, the United Kingdom was due to exit the European Union (EU) in a process known informally as ‘Brexit’. The 2 years before this time (and ongoing) experienced a period of unprecedented political and social upheaval with many unknowns and much uncertainty attached to the outcomes and future impact of withdrawal and transitionary period. Public Health Wales commissioned the Wales Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Support Unit to carry out a HIA of Brexit in Wales to assess the potential impact, extent and nature of ‘Brexit’ on health and wellbeing in Wales which would to inform its planning, future work and support other bodies decision-making, planning and policymaking. A comprehensive HIA was conducted over a 6 month period in 2018/19, steered by a Strategic Advisory Group. Methods included; a literature review; stakeholder workshop; interviews with policy leads, a community health profile, and report with evidence synthesis. Trade agreements, economic impacts, changing relationships with EU agencies, uncertainty and loss of regulatory alignment were key pathways for health impacts to occur. Potential impacts included; food standards/safety; environmental regulations; working conditions; and health and social care. Many impacts will affect the whole population. Vulnerable populations included; children/young people; those at risk of unemployment;Welsh areas receiving significant EU funding. Potential indirect impacts were identified on mental well-being. Brexit has the potential to impact significantly on the determinants of health.The HIA has informed and influenced cross-sector planning and policy in response to the short/long-term implications of Brexit to ensure that health and inequalities are considered at every juncture.This unique work demonstrates continued leadership by Wales in the field of impact assessment and ‘health in policies’ and has been positively received. It has transferable learnings for many nation states and health policy leads. Key messages Brexit is a major policy change with major health impacts. HIA is an informative and influencing process to support planning and future policy making.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Stone ◽  
Andrea Bochenek ◽  
Alison Redenz ◽  
Elinor Hansotte

Background: Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health (IU FSPH) and the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, through the Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD), created a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Learning Collaborative. The purpose of the HIA Learning Collaborative was to strengthen the capacity of both the academic and community partners to carry out HIAs. Entities recognize the value of creating a collaborative team to assure personnel are trained and available to provide time and expertise for plan reviews, formal feedback, data reports, literature summaries, and input in potential health/social impacts related to projects, which can ensure these impacts are considered in development work. In addition, the MCPHD and IU FSHP intend to increase HIA capacity in Indiana and remain committed to including health impact data into non-health sector decision making. Methods: The group planned to meet monthly over the year with the following learning objectives. A survey was created in Survey Monkey in order to evaluate the overall HIA Learning Collaborative experience and to assess whether or not the learning objectives were met. The survey consisted of 11 questions: nine were multiple choice and two were open-ended. Results: The majority of the objectives were met. Conclusion: There is interest in conducting HIAs in the future and several ideas were generated.


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