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NSW Public Health Bulletin archive

An introduction to health impact assessment Volume 16 Issue 7-8

Sarah Simpson

New South Wales Public Health Bulletin 16(8) 106 - 107 Published: 2005

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About the author/s

Sarah Simpson

Abstract

Health impact assessment (HIA) is a structured and
stepwise process for identifying the potential beneficial and
harmful health impacts of a policy, program, development
or project proposal before its implementation, with the
purpose of using this information to improve the proposal.
A widely used and accepted definition of HIA is:
A combination of procedures, methods and tools by which
a policy, program or project may be assessed for its
potential, and often unanticipated, effects on the health of
the population and the distribution of these impacts within
the population.