Improving Health in the United States The Role of Health Impact Assessment (2011) / Chapter Skim
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5 Structures and Policies for Promoting Health Impact Assessment
5 Structures and Policies for Promoting Health Impact Assessment
Pages 119-129
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From page 119... ...
Thus, improving public health substantially will require focused efforts to recognize and address the health implications of decisions made at all levels and in all sectors of government -- that is, to incorporate health into policy-making, planning, and decision-making. Health impact assessment (HIA)
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From page 120... ...
Development of resources to support HIA. STRUCTURE AND POLICIES TO SUPPORT HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT The continuing adoption and effectiveness of HIA in the United States are predicated on the creation of an institutional framework that facilitates its use in public decision-making at all levels of government (see Appendix A for international examples of the use of HIA at various levels of government)
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From page 121... ...
, could establish collaborative relationships -- for example, through an interagency working group or a task force -- that would be explicitly charged with developing guidance for integrating health concerns into the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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From page 122... ...
As in efforts at the federal level, state health departments and departments of the environment could establish interagency working groups charged with integrating health concerns into decision-making processes at the state level. State agencies -- such as departments of the environment, agriculture, education, and transportation -- could invite their health departments to participate in coordinated planning and permitting activities for large projects and for infrastructure or transportation improvement programs.
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From page 123... ...
Explicit guidance that demonstrates how health considerations can be incorporated into NEPA could be developed jointly by agencies best suited to the task of integrating health into the NEPA process and provided to federal agencies. For example, CEQ in partnership with CDC and other appropriate public-health and NEPA experts could develop and issue guidance to federal agencies on explicitly incorporating health considerations into NEPA.
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From page 124... ...
The committee notes that advancement must occur in basic education, continuing education, and formation of professional associations. Basic Education in Health Impact Assessment HIA is concerned with bringing health concerns into a decision-making process that would otherwise fail to incorporate health.
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From page 125... ...
Furthermore, because HIA practice has to overcome barriers related to the lack of interagency collaborative structures, it is important to engage and train senior-level local, state, and federal agency officials and decision-makers. Leaders of the federal civilian workforce, such as the federal Senior Executive Service (OPM 2011)
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From page 126... ...
Research to improve the analytic methods available to HIA practitioners is important, and research evidence that ties distal upstream factors to health outcomes that could be used in the HIA process is essential. Suggested research topics on the role of distal or upstream factors1 in health that could strengthen the evidence base available to HIA practitioners include the following: How health is affected by specific federal policy decisions and actions related to agricultural policy, education, energy development, environmental protection, housing, immigration, infrastructure, military defense, national parks, natural resources, taxation, and transportation.
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From page 127... ...
Such research is especially necessary inasmuch as HIA may require the investment of substantial public and private resources. Research is needed to document HIA practices and its effectiveness in influencing decision-making processes and promoting public health.
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From page 128... ...
For more resources to become available to support the development of HIA practice, society as a whole has to recognize the importance of considering health in all policies, programs, plans, and projects to improve quality of life and to protect the health of future generations. Yet, many of the connections that HIA makes explicit are neither obvious nor intuitive to the general public or to decision-makers in nonhealth (and health)
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From page 129... ...
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington Present: Participating in the Na tional Environmental Policy Act and Developing a Tribal Environmental Policy Act. October 2000 [online]
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