Health Impact Assessment in Georgia: Processes of Stakeholder Involvement and the Promotion of Equity Open Access

Campillo, Samantha Jane (2013)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/vq27zn58n?locale=en
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Abstract

Background: Growing evidence of the social determinants of health indicates that health is largely determined outside of the health sector. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a rapidly emerging tool in the United States to include health in all policies. HIA not only address the magnitude of positive and negative health impacts of a policy or plan, but also the distribution of the impacts. Therefore, HIA can be an important tool for reducing health disparities and promoting health equity when socially and economically disadvantaged groups are involved in the process. While a majority of HIAs recognize the importance of stakeholders in the process, the current literature on HIAs does not describe in-depth processes for the identification or recruitment of stakeholders or how their contributions are used to inform the HIA.

Objective: To gain a deeper understanding of processes for stakeholder involvement in HIA, especially the inclusion of socially and economically disadvantaged groups.

Methods: Qualitative methods were used to understand the processes for stakeholder involvement in HIA. In-depths interviews with HIA staff members and content analysis of the corresponding HIA reports identified important themes and concepts around the processes of stakeholder identification, recruitment, and the use of stakeholder input in HIA.

Results and Conclusions: Guided by grounded theory, a model of stakeholder involvement in HIA was developed. The model not only illustrates the processes of involving stakeholders during the HIA, but also prior conditions that influence stakeholder involvement and how stakeholder experiences during the HIA have serious implications for the future and the promotion of equity. Overall, the results indicate a lack of systematic processes around the identification of stakeholder. Limited resources for conducting HIAs were the most significant factor influencing the quantity and quality of stakeholder input.

Keywords: Health Impact Assessment, Health in All Policies, Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health

Table of Contents

Table of Contents


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.............1
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW......7
CHAPTER 3: METHODS...................22
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS....................27
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION...............51

REFERENCES................................62

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