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Volume 1, Issue 1October 2016

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to the inaugural issue of  the Chronicles of  Health Impact Assessment (CHIA)! It has been quite a journey to launch 
this journal, but we are happy to present the first edition. The motivation behind the creation of  CHIA was the difficulty 
experienced when seeking publishing sources for health impact assessment studies. We continually received feedback that our 
articles were interesting, however the journals “did not publish these types of  articles”. The idea to create an avenue for dis-
semination of  health impact literature was born when we learned the Indiana University Library had the capability to publish 
online open access journals. In this issue you will find an update on the Society of  Practitioners of  Health Impact Assessment 
(SOPHIA), the history of  the work on health impact assessment in the United States, and the support that has been provided 
and will be necessary to continue to expand the field. You will also find an article about the advocacy needed to further ad-
dress health equity and democracy. 

At the 2015 National HIA meeting we met to ask what types of  questions the CHIA journal could help answer. It was sug-
gested we discuss successful monitoring and evaluation efforts and highlight more predictive outcomes modeling. People 
wanted to have access to evidenced based criteria for community engagement and lessons learned. Finally, they wanted articles 
about practical tips from the field, case studies and more methodology focused articles. Please consider this first issue as a 
call for articles addressing these and similar issues. We hope as we move forward to publish two issues a year and eventually 
include issues with a specific focus, such as HIAs that address: transportation, land use, or food access and procurement con-
cerns. Please begin to submit your articles to chia@iu.edu. 

In, conclusion I want to thank the Society of  Practitioners of  Health Impact Assessment (SOPHIA) Board and Human Im-
pact Partners (HIP) for agreeing to work on the journal. I also want to thank the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of  Public 
Health Dean, Dr. Paul Halverson, my chair Dr. Nir Menachemi, and the faculty and staff  for their support and encourage-
ment. I also want to thank the other members of  the editorial board who assisted in so many ways in the launching this first 
issue, especially Lyndy Kouns.  

Best wishes,
Cynthia Stone DrPH, RN
Chronicles of  Health Impact Assessment Editor-In-Chief