Preface Research on biodiversity is essential to help the European Union and EU Member States to implement the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as reach the target of halting the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2010. The need for coordination between researchers, the policy-makers that need research results and the organisations that fund research is reflected in the aims of the Bio...

BACKGROUND Health impact assessment (HIA) has been widely recommended for future social policies and investment, such as housing improvement. However, concerns have been raised about the utility and predictive value of an HIA. Use of existing research data would add more weight to forecasts by an HIA. METHODS, RESULTS, and CONCLUSIONS A recent systematic review of housing intervention studies...

BACKGROUND despite health impact assessment (HIA) being increasingly widely used internationally, fundamental questions about its impact on decision-making, implementation and practices remain. In 2005 a collaboration between public health and local government authorities performed an HIA on the Christchurch Urban Development Strategy Options paper in New Zealand. The findings of this were inco...

BACKGROUND Many nations routinely include health impact assessments (HIA) in public policy decisions. Institutionalization of HIA formally integrates health considerations into a governmental decision-making process. We describe an example of institutionalization in the United States through Alaska's early experience with institutionalization of HIA. LITERATURE REVIEW HIA arose from a series ...

BACKGROUND An important health issue in urban areas is how changes arising from the regeneration of city-areas affect social determinants of health and equity. This paper examines the impacts attributable to a new fish market and to delays in the regeneration of a port area in a deteriorated region of the Bay of Pasaia (Spain). Potential differential impacts on local residents and socially vuln...

BACKGROUND To test the validity of the short form of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) for use among adults in Greece. METHODS The original English version of the OHIP-14 was translated using the forward-backward technique, pilot-tested, and then applied to 211 adults aged 35 years and above. The questionnaire was filled out during face-to-face interviews conducted by one dentist, whil...

1 University of Liverpool, Department of Public Health, Liverpool, United Kingdom. Send correspondence to: Alex Scott-Samuel, Department of Public Health, University of Liverpool, Whelan Building, Quadrangle, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 3GB, United Kingdom; telephone: +44 151 794 5569; fax: +44 151 794 5588; e-mail: [email protected]. An early definition of health impact assessment (HIA) ...