Impacts of an HIA on inter-agency and inter-sectoral partnerships and community participation: lessons from a local level HIA in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract

This study evaluates the impacts of a locally based health impact assessment (HIA) on community participation, inter-sectoral and inter-agency partnership in local decision and policy-making processes. The methods comprised a series of semi-structured interviews with key informants followed by thematic analysis of transcribed responses. The study revealed a number of positive impacts among both community and service providers. A particularly advantageous impact was the facilitation of community learning through a local action group formed as a recommendation of the HIA that provided community development and HIA training. During the HIA process all participants increased their knowledge of health determinants and recognized a broader range of evidence sources for local decision-making. Participants also developed a greater understanding of each other's roles and perspectives. Additionally, the study revealed a number of barriers to HIA. Differing views on the role of HIA were evident whereby community members tended to regard HIA as an advocacy tool for local issues impacting on health in their locality, while service providers perceived its role more in terms of networking and collaboration. A key area remaining to be tackled in terms of partnership working is the approach of service agencies to enabling meaningful community participation in local decision-making processes. In this respect, attention to the cultural dimension of inter-sectoral working, and the need for training for both service agency staff and community members prior to or at the initial stages of HIA are required. Such changes could facilitate more meaningful community inclusion and help to address the current power imbalance between these two sectors.

Development of Guidelines for Health Impact Assessment in Southern Italy

“…3,41,42 As discussed by Lee et al, 43 HIA indeed represents a bridge between health and foreign policy, with consequent awareness of decision makers of health issues. 17,[44][45][46][47] HIA has in the last 15 years become an essential, global tool in the development of healthier public policies. 8,48,49 • Conclusions Despite some difficulties in introducing this method of assessment, promotion of the HIA practice should be relevant to improve the decision-making process, minimizing the negative health effects of policies not directly related to health.…”

Community Voice in Cross-Sector Alignment: Concepts and Strategies from a Scoping Review of the Health Collaboration Literature

“…The rst strategy for engaging active community voice in collaboratives is priority setting [22,27,28,35]. Community members can help by identifying and collecting important data in their communities.…”

“…For example, community members can work with collaboratives on designing health impact assessments (HIAs). HIAs are recognized as valuable for advocacy efforts, and communities can make them more impactful by including their voices [27].…”

“…Organizations can take the time to provide training to communities, helping them develop skills that will enhance collaboration between the two entities. Trainings can, for example, address decision-making, advocacy, or how to work collaboratively [23,27,33]. Specialized trainings on social determinants of health can also help [27].…”

“…Trainings can, for example, address decision-making, advocacy, or how to work collaboratively [23,27,33]. Specialized trainings on social determinants of health can also help [27]. In many cases, community members are not the only ones needing training, and training collaborative members from across organizations can strengthen the collaborative capacity of all involved while helping to build community-collaborative relationships [27].…”