Prospective impact assessment is a consolidated approach for pursuing foresight in policy and decision-making,
systematically deployed worldwide. There is consensus that, even in well developed impact assessments,
human health is not always covered adequately. Partly as a response, health impact assessment (HIA) has
emerged and has been applied in several countries in Europe and beyond. Opinions about the merits of HIA
separate from other forms of impact assessment differ. This publication aims to provide a detailed and balanced
view on “health in impact assessments”. Five key types of impact assessment, namely environmental impact
assessment, strategic environmental assessment, social impact assessment, sustainability assessment, and HIA
are presented, and four key questions are discussed: How can the various assessments contribute to promoting
and protecting human health? How can further integration of health support the various forms of impact
assessments? What forms of integration seem advisable? What priorities for further development? This analysis
suggests that the potential of impact assessments to protect and promote health is underutilized, and
represents a missed opportunity. Ways need to be found to exploit the potential to a fuller extent.
Fehr, R., Martuzzi, M., Nowacki, J. and Viliani, F.