title: [Steps towards the institutionalization of health impact assessment in Spain: perception of public health professionals].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The current normative reform of public health policy in Spain envisages the inclusion of Health Impact Assessment (HIA). This study contributes the vision of public health and planning professionals on the usefulness and applicability of HIA in their daily work and thus reflects on how best to institutionalize it.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three training workshop were carried out with public health professionals. Participants were specialists in different branches: epidemiological surveillance, environmental health, food safety and health promotion. In this HIA workshop, a questionnaire was given to the attendees to be completed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one percent of the people attending answered the questionnaire; 92% of the staff considered that the model of social determinants of health is useful in the field of public health. The principal routes for introducing HIA were: mandatory rules (85%), integration into other existing assessment tools (65%) and the systematization of this methodology (40%). Concerning the applicability of HIA, specific strategies ere proposed for its introduction into the different branches of public health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The successful institutionalization of HIA will require the opinion and collaboration of the technical personnel. A widespread approval of this tool for its utilization in the administration was verified. To guarantee the viability of its implementation, it will be necessary to raise the awareness of professionals about the model of the social determinants of health, as well as to attend to their demands and suggestions.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sociología, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, 31006, Spain. elvira.sanz@unavarra.es
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esnaola
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aldasoro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bacigalupe
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zuazagoitia
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D062489:Health Impact Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires