Assessment methods
Health Impact Assessment (HIA)
Definition
Health impact assessment is a combination of procedures, methods, and tools by which a policy, programme, or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population. The 1999 Gothenburg Consensus formulation, grounded in the values of democracy, equity, sustainable development, and the ethical use of evidence, remains the field's seminal definition.
References
definition and typology
values and history
Overview
What it means
HIA extends impact assessment beyond the environment to human health, and crucially asks who within a population gains or loses — an equity lens most assessment tools lack. It can be prospective, concurrent, or retrospective, and applies to transport plans, housing developments, agricultural policy, and extractive projects alike.
How it is used
HIA is practised within public-health agencies, required in some jurisdictions for major projects, and integrated into environmental and social impact assessment and safeguard frameworks such as IFC Performance Standard 4.
Why it matters
It institutionalises the question "what does this decision do to people's health, and to which people?" before decisions are locked in.