Table 2.

Public health impact criteria for environmental health indicators.

Public Health Impact Selection Criteria	Explanation
Public health impact	Indicator needs to relate to an environmental health issue of significant public health impact to New Zealand. This health impact may include affecting a large number of people, a vulnerable population, or Māori health; or having substantial policy relevance.
(i) Affecting a large number of people	Priority should be given to health effects affecting larger numbers of people (i.e., with a higher burden of disease attributable to the environmental exposure (e.g., measured as deaths, hospitalisations, or disability-adjusted life years (DALYs))), within the country/area of interest.
(ii) Severity of impact	Priority should be given to health conditions with severe impacts, such as severity of illness, long-term repercussions (such as disability or long-term illness), and/or risk of death.
(iii) Affecting vulnerable populations and/or having large inequalities	Priority should be given to health effects that particularly affect vulnerable population groups and/or have large health inequalities.
(iv) Relating to multiple exposures or health effects	Priority should be given to health indicators that link to multiple environmental exposures.
(v) Relevant to policy	Priority should be given to indicators where there is potential for policy actions about the environmental exposure to make a difference; and/or the issue is of current policy interest.