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Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a process which aims to identify and examine both the positive and negative health impacts of an activity during its planning stages and provide decision makers with information about how these activities may affect the health of people. There is potential for the proposal to be improved if decision makers can be influenced through HIA outcomes.
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) definition of HIA is "...a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, programme or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population".
Health Impact Assessment in Australia
A recent emphasis has been placed on the need to try to consider where possible the unanticipated effects of actions on the health of defined populations. For example, the design of combined walk/cycle paths may stimulate increased mobility by the more physically able within communities but the presence of bicyclists may impede use by groups for whom increased activity would be valuable such as the aged or overweight.
The HIA process provides for a holistic assessment of the wider determinants of health such as lifestyle, amenity or public policy as well as the perceived risks associated with industrial development. HIA is used during the planning stages of any new development to consider the implications of possible activities in relation to their impact on individual and collective health and well-being. HIA provides decision makers with information about how any policy, programme or project may affect the health of people and thus tries to influence decision makers to improve the proposal.
Health Impact Assessment in Western Australia
In 2007 WA Health released the following discussion paper and summary document for public comment:
These documents outline the potential for HIA to be integrated into current developmental approvals processes for environmental assessments, state and regional planning, Local Government decision making and State Government policies and programmes.
WA Health received almost 50 formal submissions from Government Agencies, Local Governments, interest groups including Non Government Organisations and members of the public. Majority of the respondents were supportive of the introduction of a formalised HIA process in WA.
For further information on HIA contact the Science and Policy Unit of the Environmental Health Directorate on (08) 9388 4999 or email ehinfo@health.wa.gov.au
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Last Updated: Thursday 12 March 2009
