The New Jersey Health Impact Collaborative (NJHIC), an effort facilitated by Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy andRutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS), will be hosting a statewide conference “Health Impact Assessment in New Jersey: Building Capacity to Advance Healthier Decisions,” on May 7, 2015 at the Cook Campus Center, Rutgers University.
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is fast-growing practice that integrates stakeholder engagement and science-based health information to consider possible positive and negative health outcomes of a policy or project decision that might not otherwise be thought to have impacts on the health of New Jerseyans.
The spring conference has been designed to achieve the following objectives:
- Increase awareness about the impact that physical, social and economic factors have on health of residents;
- Enhance understanding of how Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be a practical tool to identify potential health outcomes of “non health” decisions;
- Educate participants about HIA methods, approaches and outcomes;
- Initiate the formation of a network of HIA practitioners in New Jersey; and
- Build consensus around identifying policies and types of projects in New Jersey where use of HIA could lead to improved health outcomes and more collaborative decision-making that affect our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.
Leading HIA experts from outside New Jersey as well as practitioners from within New Jersey will participate in the conference as part of NJHIC’s ongoing efforts to increase the use of high quality HIAs to improve health outcomes of decision-making in New Jersey.
More information about the conference is available at the NJHIC websitenjhic.rutgers.edu.