Health Impact Assessments

What is a Health Impact Assessment?

Health Impact Assessment, or HIA, is "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 a population and the distribution of those effects within the population. HIA provides recommendations on monitoring and managing those effects" (National Research Council, 2011). The key element that makes HIA different from traditional public health assessment is that its approach is prospective and focused on informing decisions. Ideally, the health impacts of a proposal are assessed before a final decision is made, allowing the results and recommendations of the HIA to be considered in the decision making process. The ultimate goal of the HIA is to utilize objective information to minimize the negative health impact and maximize health impacts of a project or policy.

HIA Training and Technical Assistance

OPHI recently received funding from the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) and the Health Impact Project (HIP) to develop the capacity to provide training and technical assistance for organizations interested in conducting an HIA, ranging from assistance for individual stages of a particular HIA to 2-day trainings for multiple organizations. Organizations interested in receiving HIA training or technical assistance should contact HIA Project Manager Steve White at (503) 227-5502 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

OPHI's Current HIA Projects

City of Portland Rental Housing Inspections Program HIA

Oregon Public Health Institute and its partners recently received funding the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, to conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the City of Portland's rental housing inspections program. The specific purpose of this HIA is to assess the relative health and health equity impacts of the two different rental housing inspections models that Portland currently employs. The standard inspections model that the city has used for many years is a complaint-driven process in which complaints by renters lead to inspections of their units. In 2009, the City also began to pilot an "enhanced" inspections model that is also initiated by complaints, but can also trigger inspections of additional rental units in the property owner's portfolio if certain thresholds are met. This enhanced model was initially proposed by the Quality Rental Housing Workgroup (QRHW), a workgroup convened by the Portland City Council in 2007-8 and comprised of a large number of landlord, tenant, housing and health stakeholders. It was meant to address some of the shortcomings of the City's standard inspections model to make the program more effective in working with both landlords and tenants to improve the quality of the City's rental housing stock and its ability to support the health of Portland's renters. In order to assess the relative impacts of the two inspections models, the HIA will use existing data that is collected by the Portland Bureau of Development Services and the Multnomah County Health Department, and also conduct interviews and surveys with renters and landlords. When all the assessment data is collected and reviewed, the steering committee will report its findings this spring, along with recommendations based on the potential for expansion or contraction of the enhanced model to impact the health and health equity of Portlanders.

The Steering Committee for this HIA includes Representatives from:

Metro Multifamily Housing Association
Rental Housing Association of Greater Portland
Portland Bureau of Development Services
Community Alliance of Tenants
Multnomah County Health Department
Portland Housing Bureau

Download the RHIP HIA Executive Summary For Public Discussion here.

For more information or to receive updates on the project, please contact Oregon Public Health Institute HIA Project Manager Steve White at (503) 227-5502 x228, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Study Health Impact Assessment

Over the course of 2010 OPHI partnered with Metro Regional Government to conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of Metro's Lake Oswego to Portland Transit Study. Transit Study was a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) evaluating the potential impacts of three different transit scenarios for the highway 43 corridor between downtown Lake Oswego and downtown Portland -- a no-build scenario, a street car scenario, and an enhanced bus service scenario. Metro completed the Transit Study in late 2010. The goal of the HIA is to evaluate the health impacts of these scenarios related to:

Opportunities for physical activity
Exposure to air toxics
Safety from traffic accidents
Access to health-supportive resources

Download the Lake Oswego HIA Full Report here.

Download the Lake Oswego HIA Summary here.

Download the Lake Oswego HIA Executive Summary here.

Additional documents related to this project, such as the DEIS, Public Comment Report, and Locally Preferred Alternative recommendations, can be found on Metro's project web site. The final selection of the locally preferred alternative will be made by the Metro Council. This selection is currently anticipated to be made in early 2012.

Since this HIA is serving to increase HIA capacity within the Metro Region and at OPHI, we encourage and welcome your comments on the scope, usefulness, and overall quality of this HIA. These comments should be sent to Steve White, OPHI's HIA Project Coordinator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SE 122nd Avenue Pilot Project Health Impact Assessment

The SE 122nd Avenue Pilot Project is a neighborhood planning study that was completed by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning the Sustainability in early 2011. The purpose of the Pilot Project was to explore ways to help create a "20-minute neighborhood" by addressing land use, transportation and connectivity, and development design issues in the commercial and multi-dwelling zones that lie within about one-quarter mile of the section of SE 122nd Avenue between SE Division Street and SE Foster Road.

In addition, the Pilot Project will inform the city's current efforts to develop novel planning tools and strategies that will allow city planners to more effectively address many of the challenges posed by East Portland's unique urban form. Despite this "pilot" status, however, the Project has produced a set of recommendations ranging from aspirational goals to specific actions designed to move the community closer to its goals. While some of these recommendations will wait for consideration during the city's upcoming comprehensive plan update process, others are actionable in the short term, depending on continued political and stakeholder support and involvement, and availability of resources. The purpose of this HIA is to evaluate both the health impacts of the recommendations themselves, as well as the health impacts of the 20-minute neighborhood form. In addition, it offers additional recommendations for how the Pilot Study recommendations can be improved to better support the health of community residents.

Based on the existing conditions of the area's health determinants, the scope of the pilot project, community feedback, and suggestions and advice from the project's Community Working Group and Health Partner's Working Group, OPHI decided to focus on assessing the study recommendation's potential for impacting the following five health determinants:

Opportunities for physical activity
Opportunities for accessing healthful foods
Opportunities for social engagement/cohesion
Safety from traffic accidents
Air quality

Download the SE 122nd Full HIA Report here.

Download the SE 122nd HIA Executive Summary here.

Columbia River Crossing HIA (2008)

OPHI was part of an HIA workgroup led by Multnomah County Health Department, to conduct a Columbia River Crossing HIA.

Link to the Columbia River Crossing HIA here.

The Oregon HIA Network

The Oregon HIA Network is a diverse group of individuals, agencies and organizations who are committed to advancing the practice of HIA in our region. The HIA Network meets quarterly and all are welcome.

Network Steering Committee: OPHI serves on the HIA Network Steering Committee, the group that strategizes about and plans the meeting for the HIA network. The Steering Committee is a core group of individuals from agencies that look to advocate for the use of, teach others about how to use, and offer additional resources about HIAs. For the complete list of steering committee members, click here.
Interested in joining the HIA Network?: If you are interested in joining the HIA Network listserv and/or attending HIA Network meetings, email Noelle Dobson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

More HIA Resources

Local HIAs and Resources:

Oregon's HIA Initiative: The State of Oregon's initiative is a joint effort between the Office of Environmental Public Health's Research and Education Services and the Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology's Health Department and Chronic Disease Section. Their main focus is building HIA capacity around the state through technical assistance and trainings. In addition, the State of Oregon maintains a current list of HIAs completed throughout the state. To see their completed list, click here.
Clark County (WA) Highway 99 Sub-Area Plan Health Impact Assessment (2010) Clark County adopted a Highway 99 Sub-Area Plan that identifies the vision and projects for the corridor over the next six years. The HIA will be conducted on the plan and offer an assessment of how the current plan can impact health as well as recommendation on how the plan's projects can improve health.
Vehicle Miles Traveled HIA (2009). Upstream Public Health and researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University conducted a policy scan of Oregon policies to look to reduce vehicle miles traveled in Oregon and how these policies do or can potentially impact human health.
HIA on Transportation Policies in the Eugene Climate and Energy Action Plan (2010). This project examines the health benefits and negative impacts of transportation recommendations within the Eugene Climate and Energy Action Plan (CEAP). It examines seven objectives within the CEAP and summarizes the scientific evidence that links those policies to health issues in Eugene.

National HIA Resources:

UCLA HIA Clearinghouse Learning and Information Center (UCLA HIA-CLIC). In response to the growing number of HIAs being completed throughout the country, the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) has created a clearinghouse for interested parties to learn about and find existing HIAs. Their website has a detailed search function that allows users to search for HIAs by location, topic, health effects, among other characteristics.
Human Impact Partners. Human Impact Partners is the only organization in the United States focused on capacity building for HIAs -- offering policymakers, project leaders, public agencies, community groups and advocacy organizations the support they need to conduct HIAs and use the results to make informed choices. Their website offers a HIA toolkit, HIA trainings, and links to their completed HIAs.
The Health Impact Project. The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, is a national initiative designed to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policymakers. Their website offers HIA resources and information on HIA funding opportunities.

Additional resources: