HIA and the standard public health licensing control and supervision

Abstract

The methodology of health risk assessment (HRA) is embedded in Czech legislation; the process is clearly set, those doing HRA need to be licensed. Public health authorities (PHA) use HRA as a basis for assessing negative impacts of various activities, and are obliged to evaluate the quality of an HRA and, if in doubt, to examine it or directly call for the authorizing authority to revise it. HIA does not have this support in Czech legislation. HIA has the same potential for PHA as HRA, but its use is much broader, because it identifies positive effects as well. Is there a need for more legislation? It seems that yes, partly. Czechia at least needs a clear definition of the terms (HRA and HIA are used interchangeably). It is necessary to create a HIA assessment framework. What does HIA mean for public PHA? Identification of the health profile of a community, identification of missing data sources, current research of scientific literature on the given impact, identification of problems in the territory, prioritization of health impacts and their reflection in measures and health policies. It gives the opportunity to open the discussion with stakeholders and set up projects focusing on health. HIA opens the door for problem-solving, promoting positive impacts, protecting vulnerable groups and reducing distribution of inequalities in the population. Is it possible to use HIA without a national law? The Liberec Region has been using a unique way of implementing HIA into its regulations, which can be issued by the Regional Council in delegated powers. The reason for initiating this process was the absence of health assessment in regional policies. PHA requires an HIA and to evaluate the quality of the HIA, PHA uses a checklist. But the time has come for the next step of HIA implementation, to put it into urban planning. The first step has already been taken; we have prepared a project with GIS experts and urban planning.