Vital statistics relating to the practice of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the United Kingdom

Purpose of researchTo examine the practice of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the UK and provide information which can serve as baseline data for monitoring changes and future developments in HIA. A survey of HIA practitioners was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires.Results
• 42% of the 103 HIAs were rapid assessments, 33% were intermediate, and 25% were comprehensive appraisals.
• While 70% of the HIAs were conducted prospectively, 23% were concurrent, and 7% were retrospective assessments.
• 64% of the 52 practitioners were employed in the public sector, 13% in the academia and research sector, 10% were employed in the private sector, 6% were self employed and the remaining 7% were working in other sectors of the British economy.ConclusionsThe majority of the HIAs investigated in this study were rapid and prospective assessments, which were mostly commissioned by government agencies. Additionally, the majority of the HIA practitioners were employed in the public sector of the UK economy.