Do health impact assessments make a difference? CCHE shares insights at national conference

The 2015 National Health Impact Assessment Meeting, held June 16-18 in Washington, DC, featured findings from GHRI’s Center for Community Health and Evaluation (CCHE). With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CCHE led a three-year evaluation of health impact assessments (HIAs) in the United States. HIAs are evidence-based analyses that predict health benefits and risks and inform policy decisions related to land use, transportation, housing, energy, agriculture, and other sectors.

CCHE’s evaluation found that HIAs contribute to the decision-making process and help achieve policy outcomes that improve health. CCHE’s Carol Cahill, MLS, a research associate and program manager, shared these findings in a conference session exploring the effectiveness of HIAs. Ms. Cahill’s talk was titled, “Do HIAs make a difference? A national evaluation of HIAs in the United States.” Her co-authors were CCHE Operations and Development Manager Emily Bourcier, MPH, MHA, and Research Associate/Program Manager Diana Charbonneau, MA.