Citation

Pollack KM, Givens ML, Tung GJ. Inj. Prev. 2014; 20(2): 145-146.

Affiliation

Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, , Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/injuryprev-2014-041175

PMID

24643885

Abstract

Injuries remain a leading cause of death and disability globally. A growing body of evidence shows that decisions made in sectors such as transportation, housing and urban planning affect injury risk. Health impact assessment (HIA) is a pragmatic process to identify the potential health risks and benefits of proposed policies and to inform decision-making. HIAs help policymakers broadly weigh the trade-offs of proposals, for which health risks including injury and violence might not otherwise be fully recognised or addressed. The aim of this article is to describe HIA and its application to the field of injury and violence prevention.

In 2011, the National Research Council Committee on Health Impact Assessment presented a framework for HIA practice and a consensus definition of HIA: “A systematic process that uses an array of data sources and analytic methods and considers input from stakeholders to determine the potential effects of a proposed policy, plan, program, or project on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population. HIA provides recommendations on monitoring and managing those effects.” As of November 2013, approximately 300 HIAs have been completed or are in progress in the USA, a …

Language: en