Publication Date: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The purpose of performing Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and of using Health in All Policies (HiAP) approaches is to incorporate public health considerations into decision-making across a range of sectors, and identify the potential positive and negative health impacts of a proposed law, development project, plan, or other policy, prior to its final approval and implementation.

HIA and HiAP approaches examine the impact of proposed decisions on social, physical, and economic factors that can affect health, examine how certain population groups may be disproportionately affected by a given decision, and seek to engage multiple stakeholders (both governmental and nongovernmental) to improve health equity and decision-making.

HIAs and HiAP approaches can proactively inform policymakers, experts, and community members about the potential health effects of proposed policies, projects, programs, and plans, and can identify strategies to maximize public health benefits, mitigate public health harms, and reduce health inequities. Recognizing the potential, state legislators are exploring their role in supporting the implementation of HIAs and HiAP approaches.

There are four longitudinal, empirical legal maps on LawAtlas.org that explore state-level HIA and HiAP bills and laws that were introduced, enacted and/or amended between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016.

This project is supported by a grant from the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Health Impact Project, the Pew Charitable Trusts, or the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.