Health Impact Assessment: Realizing Its Potential
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2014) | Viewed by 104404
Special Issue Editor
Interests: health impact assessment; health risk assessment; environmental health; occupational health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Many countries have processes for identifying, evaluating, and controlling the potential adverse environmental impacts of development projects and other new activities. However, these processes, usually referred to as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), have not been very effective in preventing adverse impacts on human health. Consequently, a Health Impact Assessment process was advocated in the mid- to late-1980s. Over the ensuing years, this process has gained acceptance as an approach that is either integrated into the EIA process or that is carried out separately.
The HIA process considers, from environmental parameters, both the positive and negative impacts of new activities. These parameters include the physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial aspects of human health and well-being. HIA processes have been adopted by several international agencies to evaluate development projects; such processes have progressed in diversity, depth, and level of complexity. However, this progress has been inconsistent for several reasons. Nevertheless, HIAs have demonstrated potential value (internationally) in preventing the negative and enhancing the positive health impacts of development projects, policies, plans, and programs.
This Special Issue in the IJERPH aims to advance the field of Health Impact Assessments with a range of contributions that reflect the topic’s complexity. The main steps in the HIA process will be considered as well as recent advances in approaches that improve the HIA process and its application. HIAs have not yet achieved the acceptance levels possessed by EIAs and papers that consider the various factors that explain this are also welcome. Such papers may consider why support from stakeholders fluctuates, the role of HIAs in the decision-making process, the limitations (e.g., in terms of capacity and expertise) to one’s ability to carry out HIAs, the lack of clarity and consistency in approaches to HIAs, and the lack of appreciation for the role of HIAs.
This issue will also cover the technical aspects involved in HIAs. Such aspects include data collection, risk assessment and management, monitoring, and review. Case studies concerning the use and application of HIAs that demonstrate their value will also be considered (e.g., studies discussing the use of the HIA framework to investigate the health impacts of climate change and to set air quality standards, among other potential applications). This Special Issue will attempt to provide up-to-date coverage of HIAs as valuable assets, in a variety of scenarios, for both preventing adverse impacts and enhancing the positive impacts on human health generated by new activities.
Prof. Dr. Jeffery Spickett
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- health impact assessment
- process
- decision-making
- capacity
- risk assessment
- risk management
- case studies
- international
- application
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