Cost Benefit Analysis of HIA

The UK Department of Health has published a cost benefit analsysis of HIA. From the abstract:

"The report sets out the findings of the cost benefit evaluation of Health Impact Assessment. York Health Economics Consortium followed 16 HIAs looking at the process, impact, outcomes and costs and benefits of HIA. The findings show the benefits outweigh the costs, although it was a small sample. The report will be subject to further consideration and comments are welcome."

Many of the issues identified in the report will be familiar to HIA practitioners. What is perhaps most interesting is the large variation in the amounts spent on conducting the HIAs - ranging from £1,107 to £65,240.