**11. Health impact assessment**

Health impact assessment (HIA) is an evidence-based forward-looking instrument used toward informing stakeholders as well as policymakers around the possible health impacts of projects as well as policies being anticipated, while identifying opportunities aimed at maximizing possible health benefits as well as limiting potential damage. Similarly, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a blend of several methodologies in the assessment of the possible health impact on a population and its distribution, arising from policies, programmes, or projects is instrumental in linking with other sectors to deal with the root cause of health challenges and thereby fostering the successful actualization of the sustainable development goals, having sprung into prominence in the last few decades [16–18, 20–22, 63]. Health impact assessment (HIA) is a somewhat recent way of assessing the likely impact of policy or intervention in non-health sectors, for instance economic development, transportation, as well as agriculture, on population health [2, 6, 22, 29, 42–45, 63, 85–87]. Other HIAs is aimed to ensure the participation of the actors involved in a particular project development. This latter method, which forms the foundation of the environmental impact assessment that several massive placebased projects is obligatory through law, which is comparable toward the nonregulatory method that has remained accepted for other HIAs. In general, HIA, in all its procedures, has remained acceptable by way of a tool due to the growing evidence that the social as well as physical milieus remain a significant health determinant as well as health inequalities in populations (see **Figure 4**). Hence, social determinant of health (SDoH) could be influenced through policies as well as programs, and are related through improved health outcomes. Social Determinant of Health (SDoH) is strongly influenced through policies, systems, as well as the environments (PSE). Diagram in **Figure 4** shows County Based Health Rankings as well as Roadmaps recognize the interplay amongst health outcomes, the Social Determinant of Health (SDoH), are policies as well as programs. For instance, tobacco being a foremost health outcomes determinant (e.g., quality of life, mortality), as well as the reduction in the use of tobacco and is strongly influenced through cigarettes prices as well *'Silent Pandemic': Evidence-Based Environmental and Public Health Practices to Respond… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100204*

#### **Figure 4.**

*County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. Source: Reprinted with permission from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, [88].*

as environmental determinism in the community that are smoke-free using cessation clinics availability.

It is currently utilized toward helping in assessing the prospective health consequences and outcomes of several policies as well as health status programs [16–18, 20, 21]. HIA is a systematic procedure aimed at recognizing as well as communicating the possible health-associated impacts of anticipated projects along with policies and formulating recommendations toward reducing probable health benefits as well as lessening possible harm [16, 18]. It combines several multidisciplinary approaches in the assessment of health-related consequences that may arise from a project, policy, and programme that does not clearly define health as is major focus, based of evidences of health effects from a well-structured framework. HIAs application spans over its use in a wide range of situations, such as the appraisal of national policies, infrastructural development, transportation and national/regional agricultural projects. Public participation and interagency synergy are two key positive outcomes; however, the setback is that there are no globally accepted methods in the evidence-based health impacts. Despite being a promising emerging practice, it has proven to be a great tool in the understanding of possible human health consequences, thereby informing decision-making and public policies [16, 17, 21].
