9 February 2006

Growing the Field of HIA in the USA

The American Journal of Public Health has published an a piece on Growing the Field of Health Impact Assessment in the United States. The article is based on a workshop held in October 2004 that brought together US and international practitioners, government agency representatives and academics with an interest in HIA.

The article is interesting because canvasses a number of debates around HIA's use, reminding me of many of the issues that CHETRE had to consider during Phase 1 of the NSW HIA Project.

The article's abstract is available after the jump.

Growing the Field of Health Impact Assessment in the United States: An Agenda for Research and Practice

American Journal of Public Health, 96(2): 262-270, 2006.
Authors: Andrew L. Dannenberg, MD, MPH, Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH, Brian L. Cole, DrPH, Carlos Dora, PhD, Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Katherine Kraft, PhD, Diane McClymont-Peace, MS, Jennifer Mindell, MBBS, PhD, FFPH, Chinwe Onyekere, MPH, James A. Roberts, PhD, CEP, Catherine L. Ross, PhD, Candace D. Rutt, PhD, Alex Scott-Samuel, MB, ChB, MCommH and Hugh H. Tilson, MD, DrPH

Health impact assessment (HIA) methods are used to evaluate the impact on health of policies and projects in community design, transportation planning, and other areas outside traditional public health concerns. At an October 2004 workshop, domestic and international experts explored issues associated with advancing the use of HIA methods by local health departments, planning commissions, and other decisionmakers in the United States.

Workshop participants recommended conducting pilot tests of existing HIA tools, developing a database of health impacts of common projects and policies, developing resources for HIA use, building workforce capacity to conduct HIAs, and evaluating HIAs. HIA methods can influence decisionmakers to adjust policies and projects to maximize benefits and minimize harm to the public’s health.

Access the article

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