WHIASU have created this document which looks to answer your Health Impact Assessment (HIA) questions, including looking at the benefits, what it involves and when to carry out a HIA, alongside other questions. Alongside our other resources, it can help to further your understanding of HIA.
The infographic summarises the findings, looking at the Population Groups and Determinants of Health impacted, along with the key statistics, mitigating actions and potential areas of future research. The Explanatory Note goes into further detail on the above, giving a breakdown of the evidence that informed our positive and negative findings on women, employment and health inequalities. It also offers readers the chance to see the HIA methodology that was used by the team.
This briefing focusses on adaptation to address climate change and the application of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as a process that can support policy makers to maximise wellbeing benefits, minimise harm to health, and avoid widening health inequalities when designing adaptation policies. It contains five case studies – two international and three from Wales, and provides action oriented examples of putting HIA into practice.
This health impact assessment (HIA) is a strategic and comprehensive appraisal of the potential implications of climate change on population health in Wales. It provides robust evidence to inform public bodies, agencies and organisations in their preparations for, and responses to, climate change and climate change events. It aims to support adoption of policies and plans that can promote and protect health and wellbeing for all in Wales and in those population groups and geographical areas particularly at risk of negative impacts.
The outputs of the HIA available to download here are:
• An evidence based HIA Summary report
• Individual chapters on the evidence of impact of climate change on the wider determinants of health and population groups in Wales
• A set of 4 infographics
• A PowerPoint slide deck
• A Technical Report
This report provides a short summary of the findings of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement on Wales. This report is a high-level, evidence-based strategic overview. It summarises the main health, well-being and equity impacts that could potentially occur in the short and longer-term following the UK’s accession to the CPTPP.
Health Impact Assessment is a key approach used internationally to identify positive or negative impacts of policies, plans and proposals on health and well-being. In 2020, HIAs were undertaken in Scotland and Wales to identify the potential health and well-being impacts of the ‘stay at home’ and physical distancing measures implemented at the start of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. There is sparse evidence evaluating whether the impacts predicted in HIAs occur following policy implementation. This paper evaluates the impacts anticipated in the COVID-19 HIAs against actual observed trends.
Public health institutes have an important role in promoting and protecting the health and well-being of populations. A key focus of such institutes are the wider determinants of health, embracing the need to advocate for ‘Health in All Policies’ (HiAP). A valuable tool to support this is the health impact assessment. This scoping study aims to support public health institutes to advocate more successfully for the use of health impact assessments and HiAP in order to promote and protect health, well-being and equity. It highlights the enablers and barriers to the use of HIA in the contexts of the participants and suggests some actions which PHIs can take and Units they can learn from. The results from this study can serve as a platform to help build knowledge, networks and expertise, to help support a ‘Health in All Policies’ approach and address inequalities which exist in all societies.
This comprehensive Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment (MWIA) has been carried out by the Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated policy responses, on the mental wellbeing of young people aged 10-24 in Wales.
The MWIA was carried out with the engagement of young people, teachers and lecturers and the support of a Strategic Advisory Group with representatives from a range of organisations in Wales.
The report aims to provide evidence and learning to inform cross-sector policy and practice directed at pandemic recovery, future emergencies and improving population mental wellbeing for the long term.
The report – ‘Circular Economies and Sustainable Health and Well-being: The public health impact of public bodies refocusing on waste reduction and reuse in Wales’, details how implementing policies to reduce and re-use waste, alongside recycling schemes will have possible significant positive impacts on health and well-being for the whole population of Wales. These include contributing to tackling the climate emergency and thereby reducing air pollution, reducing risk of extreme weather events, increased sustainable production of food and improved mental health and well-being.
A new report published by Public Health Wales highlights how the combined influences of Brexit, Coronavirus and climate change will potentially see rural communities in Wales experience a time of great change, with both opportunities and negative impacts to navigate.
The pandemic has explicitly exposed, and in some examples, exacerbated the health, well-being and inequalities impacts across the population which are derived from determinants such as the environment, land use, transport, economy and housing. This report aims to highlight the major positive and negative health impacts of spatial planning policies during the COVID-19 pandemic on the population of Wales, learn from these, any positive interventions and co-benefits in order to shape a healthier future environment for all.
This comprehensive and participatory Health Impact Assessment (HIA) explores the health and well-being impact of COVID-19 on housing and housing insecurity, and looks at the importance of having a consistent home that is of good quality, affordable, and feels safe. It also considers security of tenure in relation to stability, and being able to maintain a roof over one’s head and ultimately prevent homelessness. It is the third in a series, which focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the population of Wales including the ‘Staying at Home and Social Distancing Policy’ and the impact of home and agile working. This report can be read in conjunction with these and the sections on housing and home working within them.
Public Health Wales has published a series of infographics highlighting the importance of climate change impact on the health and wellbeing of the population of Wales, and to support public bodies and businesses to take action to address any impacts.
Launched to coincide with the Council of Parties 26 (COP26), the infographics focus on the relationships between the natural environment and health, the population groups affected and some of the key health and wellbeing impacts of climate change and those population groups who could be affected.
This paper highlights how the combined influences of Brexit, Coronavirus and climate change will potentially impact everyone through the food that is produced, accessed, available and consumed.
Public Health Wales has created a practical Health Impact Assessment (HIA) toolkit that will enable planners to easily integrate health into their development plans for the future.
Designed to help further the collaboration between planning and public health sectors in Wales the resource aims to maximise positive health and wellbeing outcomes through land use planning policies that create healthy, equitable and cohesive communities.
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This report provides a strategic overview of the impact, and interconnectedness, of the enormous events of Brexit, COVID-19
pandemic and climate change. It identifies the key determinants and population groups affected by the Triple Challenge and provides a key example against a determinant.
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.
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.
Public Health Wales have published a suite of documents that will help inform and enable healthier future environments including strategies to help stem the rise in obesity in Wales.
Spending time outside, keeping physically active, engaging in creative activities and hobbies, establishing routines, maintaining contact with friends online and being aware of the nature of Coronavirus and how to prevent its spread all helped reduce the negative mental health impacts of the pandemic.
This commentary aims to explore the post-pandemic role of spatial planning as a mechanism for improving public health by highlighting a whole system perspective on the food environment, referring to experiences in Wales as a case study, and concluding with observation on future consumer trends around access to food.
Due to the pandemic and policies such as the ‘Staying at Home and Social Distancing policy’, home and agile working has become necessary for many organisations and employees. This HIA aims to identify the impact of this shift in working practice and to articulate the differential impacts of such a change for organisations, the working population of Wales, their families and local communities.
This article summarizes proceedings from an international convening of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Health in All Policies (HiAP) experts held in July 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The presentations and panel discussions included different models, best practices, and lessons learned, including from government, international banks, think tanks, and academia. Participants discussed ideas from around the world for cross-sector collaboration to advance health.
In 2018, the Health impact assessment (HIA) support unit in Wales carried out a comprehensive and unique HIA on the impact of Brexit in Wales. The aims were to understand the differential impacts that Brexit would have on the health and well-being of the population and to provide evidence to inform decision makers across a range of public bodies. This paper reflects on the process of carrying out the HIA and the methods used. It discusses the stages of the HIA, and shares the findings and reflections of implementation which will be beneficial to other HIA practitioners and policy makers.
Letter calling for the United Kingdom to tackle the triple public health challenge of covid-19, climate change, and Brexit.
The health impact assessment (HIA) is increasingly recognized around the world as an effective governance tool to incorporate Health in All Policies to address the wider determinants of health. However, it is still poorly recognized and practiced in many developing countries, including Sri Lanka, where its applicability is most appropriate considering the complexity of social determinants of health and inequalities. This comparative case study aimed to explore the barriers for implementation of HIA in Sri Lanka in the areas of supportive policy framework, institutional infrastructure, capacity-building, and multisectoral collaboration and to compare them with a successful HIA system in a developed country (Wales) with a view toward identifying the “best practices” applicable in a developing country context.
The HIA outlines the potential health and wellbeing impacts of the Staying at Home and Social Distancing Policy (commonly referred to as ‘Lockdown’) on the population of Wales in the short, medium and long term. It draws upon learning from international evidence, latest data and intelligence and the views of expert stakeholders.
Assessing the positive and negative impact of policies, services and interventions on health and well-being is of great importance to public health. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and Social Return on Investment (SROI) are established methodologies which assess potential effects on health and well-being, including social, economic and environmental factors, indicating synergies, and cross-over in their approach. Within this paper, we explore how HIA and SROI could complement each other to capture and account for the impact and social value of an assessed intervention or policy.
This is a short supplementary follow up report and builds on a detailed analysis of The Public Health Implications of Brexit in Wales: A Health Impact Assessment Approach, originally published in January 2019, which examines the potential effects of Brexit on the short, medium and long-term health and well-being of people living in Wales.
The Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit have published a framework for training and capacity building in HIA this week. The technical report sets out an underpinning framework for the WHIASU’s approach to the design, development, delivery and evaluation of training and capacity building for HIA over the next five years. The framework is the result of 18 months research, development and engagement. The technical document details a newly developed ‘Skills and Knowledge Framework for HIA’ and a ‘Development Pathway for HIA’ which can inform workforce development and capacity building. The framework has been developed with engagement and feedback from HIA practitioners from Wales and beyond. It has also been designed with the input of key stakeholders including Natural Resources Wales, Local Health Boards, planning officers, environmental health practitioners, and public health specialists.