Health Impact Assessment: Concepts, Theory, Techniques and Applications (Oxford Medical Publications) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198526296 ISBN 13: 9780198526292

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA, 2004

Synopsis

Health effects are often overlooked when planning development projects ranging from new runways at major airport sites to developing water supply systems to improve sanitation. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is the assessment of the health effects, positive or negative, of a project, programme, or policy. It is therefore concerned with the health of populations and attempts to predict the future consequences for health of decisions which have not yet been implemented. HIA is a new and growing field with numerous schools of thought and areas of controversy. This book is the first to give a comprehensive overview of the concepts, theory, techniques and applications of HIA to aid all those preparing projects or carrying out assessments. It draws on examples and thinking from many different disciplines and many parts of the world. It identifies the areas of agreement and the questions remaining unanswered. It maps a confused field and signposts possible directions for future progress. Health Impact assessment is intended to help decision makers in all areas forsee the consequences of their decisions, to ensure the consequences are considered and reduce risk of population health being damaged through some indirect and unintended consequence of a decision. This book is a practical handbook for those preparing the assessments be they epidemiologists, environmentalists, health economists or public health specialists as well as serving as a conceptual guide for policy makers, decision makers and planners at national and international levels. This book will serve both as a reference for the established HIA practitioner and as an introduction for the novice.

About this title

Review

I would say that this state-of-the-art book has been successful in presenting all issues currently under discussion or agreed on in the field HIA. It also provides us with practical examples. As such, it is a "must" for anyone interested in HIA. Yet, I feel this book's most valuable contribution to the field is the stimulus it provides to do some further thinking on HIA and the future in store for it. (European Journal of Public Health, Vol 16, No. 4)

. . . a most welcome and significant contribution to the growing body of HIA literature . . . this book fills a very important gap in the literature, serves as resource for training future assessors, and could become a standard text. (Bulletin of the World Health Organisation)

About the Author

John Kemm is an Honarary Senior Lecturer, Health Impact Assessment Research Unit, University of Birmingham, UK. Jayne Parry is a Director, Health Impact Assessment Research Unit, University of Birmingham, UK. Stephen Palmer is in the Department of Epidemiology, University of Wales Medical School.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198526296
• ISBN 13: 9780198526292
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 450
• Editor: Kemm John