OHA Awards 2012 HIA Grants
OHA is pleased to announce the award of HIA grants to Benton County and Washington County to complete assessments in their counties.
Washington County's HIA will provide valuable information to decision makers as the county updates its Transportation Plan's active transportation policies and develops a strategy for prioritizing bicycle and pedestrian improvements.
Benton County will complete the county's third HIA on a proposed roundabout intersection at the corners of 53rd St and West Hills Road in Corvallis, OR.
The assessments will be completed in the summer of 2012 and the HIA reports will be posted here.
HIA Capacity Building Grant Program, 2010-2011
In January of 2011, Crook County and Hood River County were awarded HIA capacity grants to conduct health impact assessments relevant to their communities. In addition to funding, OPHD offered mentorship and technical assistance to Crook County and Hood River County in their HIAs.
Final reports
Hood River County Barrett Park Property HIA.docx
Crook County Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety HIA 2011.pdf
HIA Capacity Building Grant Program, 2009-2010
From October 2009 to June 2010, the HIA Program funded three local health departments (Benton, North Central, and Deschutes) to conduct pilot HIAs or assessments of the built environment.
North Central Public Health District (NCPHD) and Wasco County Planning and Development completed the Chenowith Area Walkability Assessment, an application of the PEQI tool oroginally developed by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH). An epidemiologist from Research & Education Services provided primary mentorship for the NCPHD team through bi-monthly calls. Mentorship entailed support for use of the PEQI, additional data resources, and review and guidance of the process and documents. The final report for the Chenowith Area Walkability Assessment can be found here.
The Benton County Health Department (BCHD) HIA group was comprised of environmental and public health staff and local planners from both the City of Corvallis and Benton County Planning Department. Through the screening process, the group chose to conduct a HIA on the County’s Accessory Dwelling Unit policy. The BCHD team received assistance from the staff within the OPHD’s Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Program (HPCDP), as well as from staff at Human Impact Partners (HIP) for this HIA. A draft summary is available here.
The Deschutes County Health Department (DCHD) HIA team represented three different agencies (the Healthy Communities Coordinator at Deschutes County Health Services and two local, non-profit partners from St. Charles Health System and Commute Options for Central Oregon). After extensive screening and scoping processes, the team settled on an assessment of the Tumalo Community Plan, a small piece of the County’s long-term comprehensive plan. Primary mentorship for DCHD was provided by two Research & Education Services staff. Mentorship included an initial site visit and an onsite mini training, as well as frequent contact via phone and email. The Tumalo Community Plan HIA report can be found here.
HIA Webinar Series
From December 2010 to April 2011, OPHD’s HIA Program hosted a five-part, introductory HIA webinar series. This webinar series covered the basic steps of health impact assessment and the connection between the built environment and health through relevant examples of HIAs conducted in and around Oregon. Among the series’ co-presenters were 2009-2010 capacity building grantees—Benton County Health Department, North Central Public Health District, and Deschutes County Health Department. Other co-presenters included Clark County Health Department, Human Impact Partners, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Metro Regional Government, Oregon Public Health Institute, and Upstream Public Health. Over 100 people attended the webinars, with 21 of the 36 Oregon counties represented.
If you missed the webinar series, you can download them all here.
HIA Training
In April 2009, OPHD sponsored a two-day training on HIA geared towards public health practitioners. The training was conducted by Human Impact Partners and focused on HIA methodology, applications, and tools. Approximately 40 people attended the training, which included OPHD staff from Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention and the Office of Environmental Public Health; members of the HIA workgroup; leadership from local health departments in Oregon and Washington; transportation and land use planners from city and regional governments; and researchers from PSU.
HIA Workshop, Healthy Communities Institute, 2009 & 2010
In October 2010, the HIA Program held its second HIA workshops at the Healthy Communities Institute. Seven federally recognized tribes and 22 counties were represented, with 120 attendees.
OPHD facilitated the first HIA workshop to introduce HIA and gather feedback about how future HIA initiatives could work best for communities at the Healthy Communities Institute in April 2009. In attendance were 75 people from 22 different counties. Topics covered at the workshop included an overview of HIA, HIA case studies, and a screening and scoping activity.
HIA Awareness Building Brownbag Series, 2009
In order to raise awareness about health impact assessment, the HIA program organized three brown bag presentations. In April 2009, the first brownbag was held as part of Oregon’s public health week activities and included panelists from diverse organizations who discussed their involvement with HIA and other successes in integrating health into decision making. The second brown bag held in July 2009 focused on the connections between transportation and health. The final brownbag, held September 2009, focused on Human Impact Partners’ Paid Sick Leave Policy HIA. Approximately 100 people attended the series.
