scholarly journals The Public Health Implications of Brexit in Wales: A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Green
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Advisory Group ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Health And Social Care

Abstract On March 29th 2019, the United Kingdom was due to exit the European Union (EU) in a process known informally as ‘Brexit’. The 2 years before this time (and ongoing) experienced a period of unprecedented political and social upheaval with many unknowns and much uncertainty attached to the outcomes and future impact of withdrawal and transitionary period. Public Health Wales commissioned the Wales Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Support Unit to carry out a HIA of Brexit in Wales to assess the potential impact, extent and nature of ‘Brexit’ on health and wellbeing in Wales which would to inform its planning, future work and support other bodies decision-making, planning and policymaking. A comprehensive HIA was conducted over a 6 month period in 2018/19, steered by a Strategic Advisory Group. Methods included; a literature review; stakeholder workshop; interviews with policy leads, a community health profile, and report with evidence synthesis. Trade agreements, economic impacts, changing relationships with EU agencies, uncertainty and loss of regulatory alignment were key pathways for health impacts to occur. Potential impacts included; food standards/safety; environmental regulations; working conditions; and health and social care. Many impacts will affect the whole population. Vulnerable populations included; children/young people; those at risk of unemployment;Welsh areas receiving significant EU funding. Potential indirect impacts were identified on mental well-being. Brexit has the potential to impact significantly on the determinants of health.The HIA has informed and influenced cross-sector planning and policy in response to the short/long-term implications of Brexit to ensure that health and inequalities are considered at every juncture.This unique work demonstrates continued leadership by Wales in the field of impact assessment and ‘health in policies’ and has been positively received. It has transferable learnings for many nation states and health policy leads. Key messages Brexit is a major policy change with major health impacts. HIA is an informative and influencing process to support planning and future policy making.

scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of a Fluvial Environment Recovery Project in a Medium-Sized Spanish Town

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 1484
Author(s):  
Cristina Casajuana Kögel ◽  
Tània Rodríguez Peña ◽  
Isabel Sánchez ◽  
Montserrat Tobella ◽  
José Alonso López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
City Council ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Health In All Policies

Introduction: The Interdepartamental Public Health Plan of Catalonia (2014) seeks to enforce Health in All Policies (HiAP) at the regional and local levels. Within this context, the City Council of Sant Andreu de la Barca (SAB), the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (MAB), and the Public Health Agency of Catalonia started a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of an urbanistic redesign of the Llobregat fluvial area in SAB, the results of which are presented in this paper. Methodology: In 2018, after a HIA screening, a prospective nonquantitative HIA was conducted. Politicians, professionals, and citizens participated in identifying potential impacts. Impacts were prioritized and linked to health determinants, scientific evidence, and potentially affected social groups. Afterwards, recommendations were formulated in order to improve the health impacts of the project. Finally, indicators were selected to evaluate HIA implementation. Results: The HIA was successfully implemented with the participation of technicians and citizens of SAB. The health impacts identified were mainly related to environmental, public safety, lifestyle, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Ten recommendations were defined to minimize the potential negative health impacts of the project, with six of them directly included and only one dismissed due to incompatibility. Conclusion: A HIA was successfully carried out in the medium-sized town of Catalonia, promoting Health in all Policies at a local level and improving health impacts of an urbanistic project.

scholarly journals Environmental assessment and health impact assessment

2018 ◽  
pp. 304-311
Author(s):  
Salim Vohra ◽  
Marla Orenstein ◽  
Francesca Viliani ◽  
Ben Cave ◽  
Ben Harris-Roxas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
New Policies

Systematically and holistically considering the community health impacts of new policies and projects is critical. Impact assessment (IA) is a key component of national, international, and many commercial policy and project development and decision-making processes. Health impact assessment (HIA) and the health component of environmental assessment (health in EA) analyses both the potential positive and negative health impacts of policies and projects. HIA and health in EA by engaging stakeholders and incorporating a range of sources and types of evidence can maximize the positive and minimize the negative impacts. This means that precautionary principle is implicitly or explicitly a part of the IA process. There are a range of significant challenges in applying IAs and in applying the precautionary principle, particularly in the IA process. Public health professionals need to engage in the IA process, in HIAs and in Health in EAs, to protect and promote community health and well-being.

scholarly journals ‘Health in All Policies’—A Key Driver for Health and Well-Being in a Post-COVID-19 Pandemic World

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9468
Author(s):  
Liz Green ◽  
Kathryn Ashton ◽  
Mark A. Bellis ◽  
Timo Clemens ◽  
Margaret Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
Health In All Policies ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Time To Build ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Policy in all sectors affects health, through multiple pathways and determinants. Health in all policies (HiAP) is an approach that seeks to identify and influence the health and equity impacts of policy decisions, to enhance health benefits and avoid harm. This usually involves the use of health impact assessment or health lens analysis. There is growing international experience in these approaches, and some countries have cross-sectoral governance structures that prioritize the assessment of the policies that are most likely to affect health. The fundamental elements of HiAP are inter-sectoral collaboration, policy influence, and holistic consideration of the range of health determinants affected by a policy area or proposal. HiAP requires public health professionals to invest time to build partnerships and engage meaningfully with the sectors affecting the social determinants of health and health equity. With commitment, political will and tools such as the health impact assessment, it provides a powerful approach to integrated policymaking that promotes health, well-being, and equity. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the profile of public health and highlighted the links between health and other policy areas. This paper describes the rationale for, and principles underpinning, HiAP mechanisms, including HIA, experiences, challenges and opportunities for the future.

scholarly journals Using health impact assessment (HIA) to understand the wider health and well-being implications of policy decisions: the COVID-19 ‘staying at home and social distancing policy’ in Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Green ◽  
Kathryn Ashton ◽  
Sumina Azam ◽  
Mariana Dyakova ◽  
Timo Clemens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Policy Decisions ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Staying At Home

Abstract Background Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is promoted as a decision-informing tool by public health and governmental agencies. HIA is beneficial when carried out as part of policy development but is also valuable as a methodology when a policy is being implemented to identify and understand the wider health and well-being impacts of policy decisions, particularly when a decision needs to be taken rapidly to protect the population. This paper focusses on a HIA of the ‘Staying at Home and Social Distancing Policy’ or ‘lockdown’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales conducted by the Welsh national public health institute. It describes the process and findings, captures the learning and discusses how the process has been used to better understand the wider health and well-being impacts of policy decisions beyond direct health harm. It also examines the role of public health institutes in promoting and using HIA. Methods A HIA was conducted following a standard HIA five step process. A literature review was undertaken alongside 15 qualitative semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, and relevant health and demographic data were collated. The results were triangulated and analysed to form a holistic assessment of the policy decision and its impacts. Results A wide range of major health and well-being impacts of the lockdown in Wales were identified across the determinants of health, which included positive and negative social, economic, environmental and mental well-being impacts beyond the impact on direct health. Populations affected included children and young people, those on low incomes and women as well as those whose health has been directly impacted by COVID-19 such as older people. The work highlighted the benefit that HIA can bring in emphasizing impacts which can inform policy and shared learning with others. Conclusion HIA is a largely underused tool to understand the impact of policy and political decisions, particularly when a decision has been taken at speed. This case study highlights how HIA provide evidence and information for advocacy and further work by public health institutes, health agencies and policy makers.

scholarly journals Health Impact Assessment and City Council Policy: Identifying Opportunities to Address Local Social Determinants of Health & Place-Health Relationships, 10 Years Later

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Petteway ◽  
Shannon Cosgrove
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
City Council ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Health Related

Background: Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be used to assess any type of policy/program related to social determinants (SDH).  However, local public health departments (LHDs) have been slow to adopt formal use of HIA in efforts to address local SDH, even with growing evidence linking SDH and place-health relationships. Ten years ago we completed a review of Baltimore City Council policies to advance this conversation within the LHD. Our goal here is to revisit this review and, again, outline a process by which LHDs can: a) monitor local policies in regard to SDH and b) identify opportunities for potential HIA use. Methods:  We reviewed all policies introduced into Baltimore City Council in calendar years 2008 and 2009. We reviewed each policy to identify those with potential health impacts. We then categorized these policies as: a) “explicitly health-related” or b) “related to SDH.” We then tabulated the number and sub-types of these policies that were referred for LHD review. Results: We identified and reviewed 597 total policies. 89 policies (15%) were identified as “explicitly health-related,” 34 (38%) of which were referred for LHD review. 208 policies (35%) were identified as “related to SDH,” 13 (6%) of which were reviewed. Overall, 297 (50%) policies were identified as having potential health impacts, 47 (16%) of which were reviewed. Conclusion: This work represents a potentially replicable process to identify HIA opportunities, and potential launch point for health-in-all-policies efforts. In Baltimore, it facilitated dialogue with Baltimore City officials and led to the LHD’s first HIA grant.

Assessing health impacts

2020 ◽  
pp. 54-65
Author(s):  
Margaret Douglas ◽  
Ben Cave
Keyword(s):  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact Assessment ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Impacts

By reading this chapter, you will become familiar with: the definition and purpose of health impact assessment (HIA); concepts and values that underpin?HIA; the stages of an HIA process; methods used in?HIA; experiences of?HIA.

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