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. 2016 Jun 30;13:E84. doi: 10.5888/pcd13.150559

Table 4. Challenges in 5 Major Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Impact Evaluation Reports, United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, 2006–2015.

Author and Year of Publication Challenges
Davenport et al, 2006 (32)           Role of decision makers
  • Limited organizational unique HIA conducted by champions external to the decision-making organization

  • Not having the support of decision makers

    • Policy-making process and environment

  • Lack of awareness of health issues by nonhealth-related sectors

  • Lack of knowledge (on behalf of those conducting HIA) of the policy-making environment

  • HIA not a statutory or policy requirement

    • Conduct and reporting of HIAs

  • Lack of an established standard method for conducting an HIA

  • Time, resources, and staffing

  • Use of jargon

Wismar et al, 2007 (35)
  • HIA timing

  • Quality of communication among stakeholders

  • Quality of HIA predictions

  • Conflicting objectives between health and other sectors in which HIA is done

  • Links among local, national, and international decision making

  • Lack of institutionalization of HIAs

  • Uneven development of HIAs across countries

Rhodus et al, 2013 (34)
  • Ability to discern impact of HIAs on decision-making processes by Internet searches is limited

    • Areas for improvement

  • Increase adherence to the minimum elements of HIA as defined by Bhatia et al (37) or to National Research Council (3) criteria

  • Expand use of HIA to inform decision making at local, state, and national levels

  • Use consistency in HIA terminology

  • Expand use of existing tools and resources for HIAs

  • Identify and close data gaps

Haigh et al, 2015 (33); Haigh et al, 2013 (36)
  • Dealing with problem makers and proposal opponents

  • Responding to unanticipated events such as change in decision maker

  • Identifying effectiveness when goals of HIA were not explicit

Bourcier et al, 2015 (31)
  • Underestimation of overall level of effort

  • Engagement of stakeholders and decision makers

  • Pace of decision making and political administration changes

  • Lack of access to relevant data

  • Incorporation of equity and vulnerable populations consistently and meaningfully

  • Follow-up on recommendations