Growing the field of health impact assessment in the United States: an agenda for research and practice.
Health impact assessment (HIA) methods are used to evaluate the impact on health of policies and projects in community design, transportation planning, and other areas outside traditional public health concerns. At an October 2004 workshop, domestic and international experts explored issues associated with advancing the use of HIA methods by local health departments, planning commissions, and other decisionmakers in the United States. Workshop participants recommended conducting pilot tests of existing HIA tools, developing a database of health impacts of common projects and policies, developing resources for HIA use, building workforce capacity to conduct HIAs, and evaluating HIAs. HIA methods can influence decisionmakers to adjust policies and projects to maximize benefits and minimize harm to the public's health.
Dannenberg
Andrew L
AL
National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mail Stop F-30, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. acd7@cdc.gov
Bhatia
Rajiv
R
Cole
Brian L
BL
Dora
Carlos
C
Fielding
Jonathan E
JE
Kraft
Katherine
K
McClymont-Peace
Diane
D
Mindell
Jennifer
J
Onyekere
Chinwe
C
Roberts
James A
JA
Ross
Catherine L
CL
Rutt
Candace D
CD
Scott-Samuel
Alex
A
Tilson
Hugh H
HH
D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000379:methods*; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006287:Health Planning Guidelines; D006291:Health Policy; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000379:methods*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States