June 2018 Volume 2

C H I A
Chronicles of Health 
Impact Assessment

Improving community health through health impact assessments

LETTER FROM THE SOCIETY OF PRACTITIONERS OF
HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT

The articles contained in this issue highlight diverse aspects of  HIA practice, including how HIAs can be used to 
demonstrate the interconnected nature of  social, environmental, and economic effects from decisions; the role 
of  legislators in exploring policies to support the use of  HIA; and how the field can equip students to do com-
munity-engaged HIA practice. A key principle underlying the work highlighted in these articles is equity. It is well 
documented that health inequities are the result of  social, economic and environmental disadvantages. Therefore, 
advancing equity involves identifying and improving those conditions that create avoidable, unfair, and unjust differ-
ences in health.

HIA has been promoted as a tool to address health equity by selecting policies, programs or projects that affect the 
health of  the most vulnerable or disadvantaged populations; engaging community members in decisions that affect 
their health and well-being; increasing the transparency of  evidence generation and the decision-making process; 
and by creating recommendations that improve health equity and reduce disparities. 

HIA practitioners work to integrate equity into the HIA process by ensuring broad community participation in the 
HIA’s planning, organizing and implementation; promoting representation of  the communities most affected by the 
decision; making decisions through a collaborative processes; and respecting the beliefs, culture, perspectives, and 
histories of  disadvantaged communities.

In addition to these great practices, the field has more to learn about how it can advance health equity through HIA 
work across the globe. The Chronicles of  Health Impact Assessment provides a critical vehicle for documenting 
and sharing best practices. We hope the ideas and recommendations provided through this issue inspire your con-
tinuing efforts to advance health equity through your work.  

Sincerely,

Susan Sutherland
Vice President of  Development, Society of  Practitioners of  Health Impact Assessment (SOPHIA)

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