Brazilian guide to HIA

The first Brazilian guide to HIA has been released. From José Braz D. Padilha:

The first publication in Brazil about the use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) has been released. 

The material was prepared by as part of technical advice for the Ministry of Health of Brazil, through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Among the supporters and collaborators of publication are Dr Guilherme Franco Netto, former director of the Department of Environmental Health Surveillance and Occupational Health of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Simone Miraglia, UNIFESP (Federal University of São Paulo), among others. 

The publication is available on the Virtual Health Library (BVS), the Ministry of Health of Brazil, at the link below. 

http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/avaliacao_impacto_saude_ais_metodologia.pdf 

This is a detailed guide for implementing HIA through partnerships with different institutions and professionals.

A terrific resource for Portuguese speaking HIA practitioners.

Why tackling inequality in the current financial situation remains important

Two different views and researches on the importance of cohesion and reducing inequalities. A study conducted by NCoC in partnership with other organisations, explores the relationship between civic engagement and economic resilience. It finds that the density and type of nonprofit organizations in a community, as well as its social cohesion, are important predictors of that community’s ability to withstand unemployment in a recession. The study identifies two main types of civic health that seem to matter most. One is the role of nonprofit organizations. The number of nonprofits per capita and the degree to which they directly engage local residents are both related to the unemployment rate. The other factor is social cohesion: interacting with friends and neighbors. Each type of civic engagement is separately valuable for preventing unemployment increases.

Nobel Prize winner and previous World Bank chief economist, Prof. Joseph Stiglitz was interviewed by the  German weekly The Spiegel on the raising inequality in the United States:  "the American dream has become a myth. The life chances of a young US citizen are more dependent on the income and education of his parents than in any other advanced industrial country for which there is data. The belief in the American dream is reinforced by anecdotes, by dramatic examples of individuals who have made it from the bottom to the top -- but what matters most are an individual's life chances. The belief in the American dream is not supported by the data." In June, Stilglitz published a book on the same topic "The price of inequality: how today's divided society endangers our future". Stiglitz focus on the financial and econonimical aspects leading to inequality, but he uses several health examples in his book. 

Environmental Medicine

“This is an important textbook in a field that has only recently become defined and which has been poorly served by books in the past. It is pitched very carefully to be useful to professionals practicing public health, occupational health, and those aspects of microbiology and toxicology applied to health protection giving a comprehensive view without the inclusion of large amounts of technical detail. It’s built around the practice and theory of environmental medicine and health protection. This is a ‘must have’ book for anyone working in health protection and the supporting medical and scientific fields. It’s comprehensive without being over technical and is bang up to date”.

BMA Medical Book Awards 2011: Highly Commended

Check out a preview by clicking here. 


It is currently cheaper at The Hut and Zavvi £84.04 compared to £128.25 on Amazon. So it's worth hunting round to get the best price.

Disclosure: A colleague, Fintan Hurley, and I have written an introductory chapter on HIA for this book. Apart from a free copy of the book we have not had nor will we get any other remuneration.

Read the (introduction to) HIA chapter by clicking here.
What's different about this introduction? It provides an outline of  (quantitative) environmental health impact assessment and how it fits within, and relates to, HIA as we talk about it on this blog.