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Health impact assessment: an introduction to the what, why and how
Author(s) -
Simpson Sarah,
Harris Elizabeth,
HarrisRoxas Ben
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he04150
Subject(s) - health impact assessment , public health , population health , impact assessment , political science , health economics , unintended consequences , environmental planning , health policy , public relations , medicine , public administration , geography , nursing , law
It is now widely recognised that policies, programs and projects within the health and other public and private sectors can have significant and often unintended negative impacts on health and well‐being . Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is one way of assessing and addressing these impacts prior to implementation. In many countries, including Australia, HIA has traditionally been undertaken as part of environmental impact assessment and translating the HIA process to this broader focus has raised some important issues, particularly whether the ‘value add’ of HIA outweighs the time and resources required. This paper aims to provide an introduction to HIA, a rationale of why you might use HIA in the project, program or policy development cycle, the steps that are generally followed in undertaking a HIA, and identification of some useful websites. We would encourage you to contribute to the knowledge in this field by ‘learning by doing’.