Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in a nutshell

This is a special guest post for The Equity Channel by Ben Harris-Roxas of the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be an important way of determining the potential health consequences of policies.

Through evidence-based recommendations, HIA can help decision-makers to become better informed about the possible consequences of public policy on health inequities, both positive and negative, intended and unintended. 

HIA is undertaken prior to the implementation of a proposed policy, program or project as a means of considering the potential health impacts involved.

HIA also seeks to develop evidence-based recommendations to maximise positive health impacts and minimise negative health impacts of policies.

With the increasing attention that has been paid to the social determinants of health since the early 1990s, the focus of HIA has expanded to include more detailed assessment of the relationship between social and environmental factors and their potential health impacts.

HIA has been on the policy agenda in Europe and elsewhere for the past 15 years, though its roots go back even further. The extent to which HIA is used across Europe is quite variable, though there is activity in most EU member states. One example is the UK-based HIA Gateway, an online resource offering guidance and information about how to carry out, commission or evaluate a health impact assessment. 

Outside Europe its use is growing rapidly, promoted by the World Health Organization and the International Finance Corporation, amongst others. 

HIA has also been considered as a means of addressing health inequities, and in 2004 a framework for Equity Focused Health Impact Assessment (EFHIA) was developed in Australia, providing detailed guidance on how to ensure health equity is addressed at each step of the assessment process.

The importance of HIA continues to grow, and there are now more than 1,000 examples of its use across the globe.

For more information on HIA including HIA guides, completed HIA reports and teaching resources, please visit the HIA Connect website at http://www.hiaconnect.edu.au.

Ben Harris-Roxas