# Health Impact Assessments >[!External Links]+ >[Files](x-devonthink-item://73F2D540-59E7-4BC9-958C-5798526CE087) ## Background - Health as an [[Public Health Approach]]. Definition not just about preventing ill-health but broader. - HIAs are > “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”. - WHO - They aim to predict and assess the effects on health of various proposed policies, programmes and projects and to support policy-makers in improving the decision-making process - Three types of HIA: - Prospective: Before start of development - Concurrent: alongside project - Retrospective: after project - HIA Values - Democracy (transparent decision making) - Equity - Sustainable development - Ethical use of evidence ## Benefits of HIA approach - "Healthier" decision making and better policy making - Optimise/ demonstrate [[Value for Money]] - Recommend changes that affects groups, particularly vulnerable groups. - Identify vulnerable groups. - Integrated approach - Helps to keep leaders informed about the health implications of their decisions. ## Health determinants - Not necessarily disease. - Genetic, environmental, social and economic factors related to personal and family circumstances, income, education, where people live and work and, to a relatively limited extent, health care services: ![[Pasted image 20221209112835.png]] ## Vulnerable populations - Look at increased risk of *preventable* harms. Not about curing. - Marginalised groups. ## Framework See summary below: ![[Pasted image 20221209113108.png]] Process: 1. Screening - Identify vulnerable groups 2. Scoping - extent of the work. - Focus on [[University of Salford]] students and vulnerable groups 3. Appraisal of Evidence/Assessment - What is the interaction between the problem, the vulnerable group, and determinants of health? - Eg relationship between loneliness, ethnicity, transportation, living arrangements, family status, age, progress through the university. - This creates a risk register 4. Reporting and Recommendations - Sharing of findings with stakeholders and decision makers and prioritisation of support for vulnerable students. - Recommendations for improved conditions among vulnerable students. 5. Monitoring and Evaluation - Periodic monitoring through surveys and any other available methods to ensure that prioritisation of support to vulnerable students do not slip. - Typically monitoring and evaluation tends to start from 2 years after intervention to give enough time to observe the impact. ## See also/ Links - Links to [[epidemiology]].