Soft data, hard effects. Strategies for effective policy on health impact assessment--an example from the Netherlands.
Health impact assessment (HIA) on a strategic level focuses on the broad determinants of health. However, the evidence with regard to the health impacts is often necessarily 'soft'. The example of a health impact review on national housing policy in the Netherlands shows that HIA can be effective even in the absence of hard data. Strategies used to overcome the problem of not having hard data are outlined. The authors argue that, for HIA to be effective, it does not necessarily have to be limited to easy-to-measure, easy-to-quantify programmes and health effects.
den Broeder
Lea
L
Netherlands Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Department of Public Health Forecast, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Lea.de.Broeder@rivm.nl
Penris
Manon
M
Put
Gerard Varela
GV
D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D004782:Environmental Health; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006798:Housing / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D009426:Netherlands; D011635:Public Health Administration; D011640:Public Policy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors