Integrating Health Impact Assessment with the Policy Process

Monica O'Mullane PhD is a lecturer in the Department of Public Health, Trnava University, Slovakia. Her HIA research interest is focused on the role that the policy sciences can play in understanding and evaluating HIA practice. Monica conducted her doctoral study in University College Cork Ireland investigating HIA use in public policy formulation in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland, by applying a theoretical framework drawing mainly from new institutionalist theories. She has presented at HIA Forums hosted by the Institute of Public Health Ireland and co-founded and coordinated the Southern HIA Network (2008-2010). In 2010 Monica came to Slovakia funded by the Slovak Ministry of Education to investigate the feasibility of HIA in the country. This research has been conducted at a crucial time in HIA's life-span in Slovakia, as a cornerstone for the advancement of the Health in All Policies (HiAP) agenda.

1. Introduction ; 2. Health Impact Assessment: The Conceptual Roots ; 3. The Policy Process and Health Impact Assessment ; 4. The Impact of HIA on the Policy-Making Process in Ireland: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland ; 5. HIA implementation and public health policy systems in Slovakia and Denmark ; 6. "Ruhr" metropolitan area in Germany - Rapid HIA of novel spatial planning ; 7. HIA and its Role in Shaping Government Policy Making: The use of HIA at national policy level in England ; 8. HIA in the United States of America: Practice, Policy and Legal Underpinnings ; 9. "Learning by Doing": Building Workforce Capacity to undertake HIA. An Australian Case Study ; 10. HIA in Local Government: The New Zealand Case ; 11. A Decade of HIA Development in Thailand: From Cases to Constitution ; 12. From instrument towards programmatic approach for Health in All Policies (HiAP) decision-support? Health Impact Assessment in the Netherlands ; 13. Health in Impact Assessment and Emerging Challenges in India ; 14. Realities and Opportunities for Health Impact Assessment in Africa ; 15. Implementing and Institutionalising HIA in Spain: Challenges and Opportunities ; 16. Integrating Health into Impact Assessments in Scotland ; 17. HIA in Colorado: A Tool Used to inform decision-making ; 18. Lessons Learned from HIA Experience around the World: Where to Next?