Lessons learned from developing a statewide HIA program: A perspective from the Minnesota department of health

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), with strong support from national funders and in collaboration with state and local partners, has built a robust program to support Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) in Minnesota. MDH began building capacity for HIA in 2009 with a grant from the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials and CDC. The initial grant allowed MDH to provide trainings on HIAs, provide mini-grants to two HIAs (i.e., Douglas County's Comprehensive Plan Update HIA, and Duluth's Schematic Redesign of Sixth Avenue East HIA), and perform an HIA on the City of St. Louis Park's Comprehensive Plan. This funding enabled MDH to build internal and external capacity to perform HIAs, assemble a group of organizations interested in HIA, develop its own HIA training, and compete more broadly for HIA funding. In 2010, MDH received additional funding from CDC to further health in all policies. MDH reviewed 52 comprehensive plans in the metropolitan area and developed a training that describes how planners can achieve eight health goals based on 20 planning strategies. MDH completed the Divine Mercy Development HIA, which informed a larger effort of including HIAs and climate change in the environmental review process. This work led to a state policy change of screening certain built-environment projects for HIA. Now, MDH is poised to expand HIA throughout the state through trainings, technical assistance, an HIA coalition and an interagency HIA workgroup. Through the Minnesota example, this session will review steps for creating an HIA program in your state.