IOM CHIA at the forthcoming major HIA Conference in Dublin
Date: 01 January 2007 "The IOM Centre for Health Impact Assessment (IOM CHIA) is presenting on three major themes at the 8th International HIA conference in Dublin between the 16th-17th October 2007.
Quantifying health impacts - recent applications, new directions
Fintan Hurley, IOM’s Scientific Director, will give a plenary session presentation on the value and limitations of quantification currently, in the context of outdoor air pollution, using methods and results from HIA and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the European Commission’s Clean Air for Europe Programme (CAFE). He will also consider some of the current and planned work of IOM in extending quantification to wider issues, such as linking quantitative and qualitative assessments in assessing the benefits to health of greenspace. He will argue that the balance between quantitative and qualitative is not one of principle but depends on context, and especially on what is known about the links between (i) policies; (ii) consequent changes in peoples’ environments, exposures, attitudes and lifestyle; and finally, (iii) effects on health.
Engaging the Community in HIA: the highs and lows of making it fit for purpose
Salim Vohra, Director of the IOM's Centre for Health Impact Assessment will use his recent experiences in three HIA related projects that he has led, to explore the challenges of doing good community consultations within HIA. The three HIA projects are*: the Dart Street Home Zone Community Planning project; Wales 3 Regional Waste Plans 1st Review HIA project; and the Development Bank of Southern Africa HIA mainstreaming and capacity building project. Key questions that will be explored will be:
- li>Are good HIA and good community engagement/consultation a contradiction?
- Does community engagement/consultation improve health and wellbeing?
- How can we plan and cost for effective consultations within HIAs?
- What are the benefits of consultation and how to maximise them for the HIA and the consultation participants?
- What are the potential barriers and risks of undertaking consultation within HIAs and how can they be minimised?
- How do the above vary depending on social, cultural, economic and geographical context?
Regeneration, health and HIA: what do we know, what have we achieved and how can HIA help improve the outcomes
This IOM poster presentation will explore the complex relationship between regeneration and health. It will explore. through case studies such as the 2012 Olympics and Neighbourhood Renewal:
- the current evidence on regeneration and health and wellbeing;
- the current theories and frameworks used to understand the health and wellbeing impacts of regeneration proposals;
- how health inequalities can be exacerbated by regeneration proposals; and
- how HIA can add value to regeneration proposals by maximising their positive impacts, minimising their negatives and narrowing health inequalities.
*These projects were undertaken by Dr Salim Vohra while working at Peter Brett Associates, an international multi-disciplinary environmental consultancy.
Link:
Institute of Public Health in Ireland: http://www.publichealth.ie/