Health Impact Assessment in Local Health Departments

Grants of up to $15,000 to USA local government health departments to engage in activities that will lead to the completion of a health impact assessment. A teleconference will be held on August 5 for interested applicants. Assessments should focus on a transportation, land-use, parks and recreation, community design, or energy policy, plan, program or project.

HIA has been defined by the National Research Council as “a systematic process that uses an array of data sources and analytic methods and considers input from stakeholders to determine the potential effects of a proposed policy, plan, program, or project on the health of the population and the distribution of those effects within the population. HIA provides recommendations on monitoring and managing those effects.”

HIA provides LHDs with an opportunity to engage their communities, planners, engineers, and elected officials in the decisionmaking process while ensuring that the proposed activities and changes support public health, health equity, and environmental justice.

As such, HIA is consistent with NACCHO’s policy statement on healthy community design, which supports “comprehensive, formal, and systematic integration of local public health considerations into community design processes, including community planning, regulations, and design of new development and redevelopment, and design of the public realm to promote and protect the health of our communities.”

NACCHO and CDC will provide selected sites with:
-A monetary award in the amount of up to $15,000 that will be paid in two installments, the first approximately halfway through the project period and the second at the end of the project period, upon successful submission of deliverables.
-Virtual (phone or e-mail) technical assistance (TA) from NACCHO staff, upon request, related to HIA implementation (TA is limited to 8 hours per site, applicants seeking more in-depth TA should plan and budget accordingly).
-Hosted conference calls, as appropriate, to support peer learning between selected sites.
-Connection to learning communities, national networks and activities. (Applicants may budget for travel and participation at the National HIA Meeting.)
-Applicants may have access to a peer mentor, pending the availability of additional NACCHO funds.

An experienced HIA practitioner (mentor) may be assigned to provide more in-depth TA and support throughout the project period. The mentor may be able to assist in a variety of ways, such as providing additional guidance, input, and training on HIA, help to review documents and communication materials, as well as help with crafting recommendations. TA from the mentor is limited to 20 hours and may include an onsite visit to the mentee agency.