Experiences and needs of licensed health risk assessors conducting health impact assessment in the Czech Republic.

Publisher: TIGIS, Ltd. in association with the National Institute of Public Health Country of Publication: Czech Republic NLM ID: 9417324 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 1210-7778 (Print) Linking ISSN: 12107778 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Cent Eur J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2002- : [Prague?] : TIGIS, Ltd. in association with the National Institute of Public Health
Original Publication: Prague : Czech Medical Association J.E. Purkyne, [1993-

Health Impact Assessment* ; Public Health Practice*; Risk Assessment/*methods; Czech Republic ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment, Health Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective: The main aim of this study is to discover and analyse the utilization of health impact assessment (HIA) among HIA certificate holders, and to ascertain their opinions on the current situation in the Czech Republic and on the possible future nationwide implementation of health impact assessment.
Methods: The target group of the research was identified as holders of professional competence certificates in the field of public health impact assessment. A structured questionnaire was developed. The first part mapped the recent use of HIA in the Czech Republic, the second addressed the issue of linking HIA to regional policies and to the national strategy, the third aimed to gain information about the preparedness of the Czech Republic for the full implementation of HIA, and the last part focused on quality assessment and capacity building for HIA.
Results: The results of the survey point to the inconsistencies in the perception of the whole concept of HIA in the Czech Republic by the professional public, and also to a shortage of experts in this area. There is only a narrow circle of experts, especially in the field of health care. It also lacks an informational base, which assist in the unification of processes in this area. As the results of the questionnaire showed, the problems are the lack of interest in the application of the HIA method and, subsequently, the lack of demand.
Conclusion: The collected data showed obstacles and gaps in the implementation of the HIA methodology in the Czech Republic. At the same time it has revealed possible ways to change the current situation, based on the opinions of those who practice this methodology in the Czech Republic.

Keywords: certificate holders; health impact assessment

Date Created: 20200628 Date Completed: 20200701 Latest Revision: 20200701

20221213

10.21101/cejph.a5833

32592554