Health impact assessment (HIA) on a strategic level focuses on the broad determinants of health. However, the evidence with regard to the health impacts is often necessarily 'soft'. The example of a health impact review on national housing policy in the Netherlands shows that HIA can be effective even in the absence of hard data. Strategies used to overcome the problem of not having hard data a...

The most widely accepted definition of health impact assessment (HIA), from a consensus conference in Gothenburg organised by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) European Centre for Health Policy, defines HIA as ‘a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution o...

Between 2001 and 2003 the London Health Commission undertook health impact assessments (HIAs) on a series of strategies developed by the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. The HIAs were rapid, each involving a literature review and a participant workshop. In all cases the reports made a series of recommendations that were given to the Mayor. The HIAs led to changes and ensured th...

This paper presents a critical analysis of health impact assessment (HIA) in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) in the context of institutional policy and practice. It begins with a brief background to the origins and aims of HIA. Core developments in health and environmental sectors pertaining to HIA in the ROI are then considered. A series of significant developments have taken place in these sect...

Health impact assessment (HIA) has been advanced as a means of bringing potential health impacts to the attention of policy makers, particularly in sectors where health impacts may not otherwise be considered. This article examines lessons for HIA in the United States from the related and relatively well-developed field of environmental impact assessment (EIA). We reviewed the EIA literature an...

Health impact assessment (HIA) can ensure that health is a core element of sustainable urban planning. Based on the experience of the NSW HIA Project, we discuss the current strengths of HIA and challenges facing it as an urban sustainability tool across five areas: the use of evidence; integrating HIA with environmental impact assessments; including consideration of equity; recognising wider d...

The experience of health impact assessment (HIA) in NSW has shown that it is possible to incorporate considerations of health impacts into decision-making concerning urban planning. In NSW, the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 is the regulatory framework governing urban planning. This legislative system provides opportunities for HIA and the consideration of health impacts as part...

A situation analysis was undertaken to assess impediments to health impact assessment (HIA) in the South-East Asia Region of WHO (SEARO). The countries of the region were assessed on the policy framework and procedures for HIA, existing infrastructure required to support HIA, the capacity for undertaking HIA, and the potential for intersectoral collaboration. The findings show that environmenta...

The determinants of health are those factors that have the potential to affect health, either positively or negatively, and include a range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors. In the practice of health impact assessment (HIA), the stage at which the determinants of health are considered for inclusion is during the scoping step. The scoping step is intended to identify how ...