[MUSIC] Imagine you new plan for major infrastructure project is being put forward by your government. For example, a new runway at an airport, a new high speed intercity railway line, or a new motorway. As a public health specialist what frameworks or tools can you use to explore the effects of this project on the health of the local population? And how can you generate evidence-based recommendations, which will influence how those effects or distributed within the population? To enable us as public health specialists to answer these questions, we conduct health impact assessments. So I'm going to outline what a health impact assessment is and why it is important. Let's start with two key terms. Health impacts are the overall effects, direct or indirect, of a policy, strategy, program or project on the health of the population. A health impact assessment is a combination of procedures, methods, and tools that systematically judges the potential. And sometimes unintended effects of a policy strategy, program or project on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population. So why a health impact assessments needed? Well, there is increasing recognition by government policymakers, that many contemporary health issues are profoundly influenced by factors outside the traditional realm of health and health care. Fact as such as literacy, poverty, unemployment, contribute to disparities in life expectancy, as well as to health related quality of life. Concerns about how to address these factors has led to a focus on health in all policies. In which policies in social sectors such as transport, housing, employment and agriculture ideally would contribute to health and health equity. So you can see that health impact assessment are important for evaluating the potential future impacts of proposed actions in other sectors that are likely to lead to significant health effects that are positive, negative, or both. A health impact assessment of as a means to make these health effects explicit and identifies appropriate actions to manage these effects. They offer great potential for promoting health by encouraging decisions that protect and enhance health and health equity. Four values are particularly important for health impact assessments. One, democracy, emphasizing the rights of people to participate in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies that affect their life. Two, equity, emphasizing that we, as public health specialists are not only interested in the overall impact of the policy on health, but also on the distribution of the impact within the population. In terms of gender, age, ethnic background, and social economic status. Three, sustainable development, emphasizing that both short term and long term impacts are taken into consideration. And four, ethical use of evidence, emphasizing that the use of evidence has to be rigorous. And based on different scientific disciplines and methods to get as comprehensive assessment as possible of the expected impacts. Let's look at an example of how proposed actions in non healthcare sectors can impact health. But first, take a moment to think about what's health effects you would want to consider in a major transport project. Although air pollution and injury prevention are often considered in major transport projects, the influence of road design or physical activity and obesity is not. A health impact assessment that recommends the addition of pedestrian and bicycle facilities to transport project would contribute to building an environment that promotes the public's health. So in summary, health is influenced by factors outside of the health and healthcare sector, including education, infrastructure, and employment. We, as public health specialists need to engage more proactively in policy making processes. And health impact assessments provide a great means for doing so. Finally, a health impact assessment is a tool used to judge the potential health effects of a proposal on the health of a population. And make recommendations on how to optimize the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of that proposal on health. [MUSIC]