Oral

Health impact assessment (HIA) is a tool that can improve communication between public health professionals and urban planners, transportation planners, and other decision makers so that health issues are more likely to be considered in decisions about community design, resource extraction, and other areas outside of the health sector. While most HIAs completed in the US to date have been conducted on a voluntary basis, HIAs can be incorporated in the environmental impact assessment process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) where they are likely to carry more influence. This session will provide background information about HIA, examine the use of HIA to enhance social justice, give examples of the use of HIA within the NEPA context, and discuss the inclusion of health impacts in the NEPA commenting process by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Session Objectives: To describe the use of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) as a tool to convey information about health impacts of proposed policies and projects to decision makers. To explain the relationship between health impact assessment and environmental impact assessment (EIA). To name opportunities in which HIA can be incorporated into EIA processes.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)