Health in All Policies
The determinants of health illustrate that our health and wellbeing is influenced by much more than access to quality healthcare. The factors that affect our health are often many and complex, and lie outside health services and health policies.
Health in All Policies (HiAP) is an approach to public policies across sectors that systematically takes into account the health implications of decisions, seeks synergies, and avoids harmful health impacts in order to improve population health and health equity. It improves accountability of policy makers for health impacts at all levels of policy making. It includes an emphasis on the consequences of public policies on health systems, determinants of health and wellbeing (WHO, Helsinki Statement on Health in All Policies, 2013).
A key feature of HiAP is a formal collaborative arrangement for policy making and planning. It acknowledges that the work of many organisations and agencies contribute to community health and wellbeing and the best policy and planning outcomes arise from that collaboration. It is community-centred with a focus on health and wellbeing outcomes.
Health in All Policies is an approach that both Bay of Plenty and Lakes District Health Boards have committed to.
Please contact our Healthy Policies team for more information.
Click on the image to view a HiAP infographic.
HiAP in Practice
Canterbury District Health Board leads HiAP in New Zealand, having held formal collaboration agreements with their local authorities for over ten years. In their experience, HIAP work has both strategic and technical components:
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Strategic aspects may include new forms of governance/leadership; shared goals and budgets; new understanding of decision-making and processes of different organisations; and the reframing of issues for shared understanding.
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Technical aspects may include undertaking a Health Impact Assessment and/or other types of impact assessment; joint work plans; capacity building activities; cross sector projects, data collection and analysis, and community consultation.
Find out more
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Bay of Plenty District Health Board Health in All Policies Position Statement
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Lakes District Health Board Health in All Policies Position Statement
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Community and Public Health Canterbury District Health Board public health website that has lots of useful information about HiAP including ten concise information sheets.
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Helsinki definition of HiAP the internationally accepted definition of HiAP and links to international HiAP resources.
“How To” guides
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HiAP: A Guide for State and Local Governments US guide from the Public Health Institute
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The South Australia Approach to HiAP Background and Practical Guide by the Government of South Australia
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World Health Organisation HiAP Training Manual Aimed at central government agencies but has a useful international perspective.
International conference declarations
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The Adelaide Statement on Health in All Policies Report from the International Meeting on Health in All Policies, Adelaide, Australia, 2010
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The Helsinki Declaration of Health in All Policies Arising from the 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion, Helsinki, Finland, 2013
Evaluation of HiAP
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Evaluation of Health in All Policies: concept, theory, application An evaluation of the South Australian approach to HiAP published in Health Promotion International
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Executive summary of the Final Evaluation Report for Canterbury Health in All Policies Partnership (CHIAPP), 2012. This is an evaluation of the CHIAPP partnership and builds on similar evaluations in 2011 and 2010.
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Canterbury Health in All Policies Partnership Self Evaluation and Monitoring Tool (2015) The CHIAPP Leadership Group intends to use this tool, at least annually, for the purposes of self-evaluation.
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