Health Impact Assessment for Healthy Places: A Guide for Planning and Public Health Module 3: Scoping Goal: The goal of scoping is to identify issues that should be addressed in the HIA and describe key aspects of the health status and demographics of the population that will serve as a baseline to assess health impacts.

Define scoping and describe steps Assess which impacts are likely to be important and can be addressed Identify the types of information to gather Determine indicators for analysis Determine geographical, temporal, and population parameters Determine how community members can contribute Define the challenges Module 3: Objectives

Establishes the foundation for conducting the health impact assessment Designs and plans the HIA Highlights key issues that will be considered The Purpose of Scoping

Steps in the Scoping Process 1. Establish ground rules 2. Define the HIA 3. Gather baseline information 4. Specify what impacts to assess 5. Create a logic framework summarizing the relevant causal linkages 6. Consider assessment models

Clarify roles of stakeholders and partners Determine who has final authority to decide the scope of the HIA Set timelines Establish responsibility for convening meetings and other administrative tasks Establish Ground Rules

Establish boundaries for the HIA: – Geographical – Temporal – Population Identify needed resources Identify partners Describe the intended impacts Define the HIA

Describe the characteristics of the population Identify at-risk groups Describe the health status of the population Define environmental conditions of the target population Identify quality and quantity of affordable housing Baseline Information Gathering

Gray literature Peer reviewed literature Key informants or stakeholders who provide local information Experts in relevant fields who can identify the health related outcomes Finding the Information

Qualitative  Is easier  Takes less time Quantitative  Is more complicated  May require modeling skills  Needs high quality baseline and impact data  Results are often “viewed” as more credible What Impacts to Assess?

The purpose of a logic framework is to: Organize existing knowledge Communicate information Guide analysis Create a Logic Framework

Identify how the policy or project will affect health Identify the health outcomes of interest Creating a Logic Framework

Education: safety training Obesity Asthma Motor vehicle use Air and noise pollution Enforcement: increase police presence, crossing guards Engineering: improve pedestrian facilities, traffic calming Injury Physical activity (short- term) Dedicated resources: walking school busses walkability safety Policy/ Proximal/Intermediate Health Project Impacts Outcomes Walk to School Logic Framework

Checklists can also be used Lots of different checklists available They perform the same duty as a logic model and one is not superior to the other – it just depends on what people are more comfortable using HIA Screening Checklist of Health Determinants (UCLA Health Impact Assessment Project, April 2002) For all likely significant impacts Potentially significant impact 1 no/unlikely 2 possible 3 likely Are impacts likely to be measurable? 1 no/difficult 2 possibly 3 yes Available data on impacts 1 minimal 2 fair 3 good Biophysical environment Housing conditions Fire, building safety Security Sanitation Indoor air quality (including radon) Asbestos Lead Crowding Affordability and access Working conditions (includes psychosocial factors 1 ) Structural safety (including fire, earthquake, etc) Air quality Toxins, biohazards Work task safety Ergonomics Psychosocial (including stress) School conditions (see Services – Education 2 )N/A Water quality Drinking water quality Water quality – waterways and recreational Water availability/Access Outdoor air quality (including odors) Toxins, carcinogens Allergens, irritants (e.g. particulates, asthma triggers) Nuisance odors Noise1 2 3 Disasters, probability/consequences of (see also Services) Earthquakes Floods Fire Storms – hurricane, tornado, wind, lightning Solid waste (production, disposal and recycling)1 2 3 Food Supply Food security and access Food purity and contamination Nutritional quality, wholesomeness Infectious diseases and other biological hazards Infectious disease (see also food purity) Anti-microbial resistance Vector and animal control Ionizing radiation (ambient, medical) (for radon see: Biophysical env.) Page 1 of 3

Most will use a combination of models using quantitative and qualitative data Quantitative HIAs should not be seen as superior to qualitative HIAs The most important point is that the HIA has an impact on the decision Consider Assessment Models

Identify: – potential health pathways and equity effects – available research methods and data sources – potential mitigation strategies Develop research questions Community Contributions

Participate in a collaborative scoping exercise Determine the highest priority HIA questions and tasks Assist project staff to synthesize highest priority community issues Actions for Steering Committee

Identifying and prioritizing impacts Finding sufficient information to complete the HIA Having enough resources to gather needed information Keeping the feedback channels open throughout the process Challenges to Scoping