Links & Resources (external)

Listed here are a series of links to websites that we find useful in providing current information on health and planning, and contributing to the ongoing professional development of health practitioners.

Discussion groups and lists

Health Equity Network
HIA
Social Determinants of Health

Evidence-Base

Campbell Collaboration: A non-profit organization that aims to help people make well-informed decisions about the effects of interventions in the social, behavioral and educational arenas.
Cochrane Collaboration: An international not-for-profit and independent organisation, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide.
Evidence based practice: A summary of, and links to, articles from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health on evidence-based practice.
MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit: Reports and Occasional Paper
National Electronic Library for Health
Public Health Electronic Library
PubMed: Search engine for most health-related articles you could hope to find.
WHO Bulletin: The International Journal of Public Health
WHO Social Determinants of Health Document: The second and updated edition of the WHO document Solid Facts.
World Bank Research Unit: The Data and Research pages of the World Bank: providing: national and international statistics, and global statistical programs; cross-country, cross-sector, thematic research outputs from the World Bank's main research unit; and Information, analysis, and advice on global trends in the world economy

Impact assessment

Annotated Bibliography of HIA (Minnesota department of health)
HIA blog: A blog run from CHETRE in Australia providing excellent and informative thoughts on HIA. Get involved. Have your say.
HIA gateway: This site contains useful archive material. Unfortunately it is no longer updated. It continues to be a valuable source.
HIA wiki: An HIA community website. This is for anyone who wants to know more about the social, economic and environmental factors that influence individual and community health and wellbeing. Once again get involved.
HIA: Principles and practice paper: Part of the IAIA series of Principles and Practice papers covering a wide range of important issues which need to be covered in IA. These principles were published in September 2006 and promote health impact assessment (HIA), to lead to better consideration of the health implications of decisions and render them more sustainable.
Levett-Therivel: Sustainability consultants who provide links, resources and guidance on strategic environmental assessments.
London Health Commission: The London Health Commission is the key partnership for health in London. They are creating partnerships to reduce health inequalities in the capital and improve the health and well-being of all Londoners. The site includes links to the HIAs of the Mayoral strategies.
Public Health Agency of Canada: Not strictly HIA: but the Public Health Agency of Canada works with provinces and territories to renew the public health system in Canada and support a sustainable health care system. This link takes you to the page where the PHAC describe their population health approach.
SEA info: Gateway to the latest information on strategic environmental assessment (SEA) and sustainability appraisal (SA).
Welsh Health Impact Assessment Support Unit: Information on health impact assessment (HIA) in Wales, news and recent developments
WHO Regional Office for Europe: This site has many resources and information on health topics. It also looks at HIA and at healthy urban planning.
World Health Organization HIA page: A global view on HIA: definitions, guidance, glossary and more

Planning

Healthy Urban Development Unit: The NHS London Healthy Urban Development Unit (HUDU) was established in February 2004 to help the NHS to engage in urban planning. HUDU's primary role is to support NHS organisations across London. Their site contains excellent guidance and resource materials on health and planning.
Planning portal: A one-stop shop for planning policies and guidance.

Policy analysis

Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion: The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion is an independent, not for profit organisation dedicated to promoting social justice, social inclusion and tackling disadvantage. The site contains useful information and a searchable database of documents relatingto social and economic inclusion.
DEMOS: Demos are the think-tank for everyday democracy: read their publications here.
House of Commons Research Library: Text of Research Papers which are compiled for the benefit of British Members of Parliament by the staff of the House of Commons Library.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation: One of the largest UK social policy and research development charities. Their mission is to understand the causes of social difficulties and explore ways of overcoming them.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: The OECD groups 30 member countries sharing a commitment to democratic government and the market economy. This link takes you to their publications and its statistics: their work covers economic and social issues from macroeconomics, to trade, education, development and science and innovation.
Policy Hub: A one-stop shop for reference materials and news releases on policy development and evaluation.
Renewal-what works in neighbourhood renewal
The Kings Fund: A think-tank who conduct research, policy analysis and development activities working for better health. Resources and publications available.
World Health Commission on Social Determinants of Health: The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) supports countries and global health partners to address the social factors leading to ill health and focus on health inequities. It draws the attention of society to the social determinants of health: these include unemployment, unsafe workplaces, urban slums, globalization and lack of access to health systems.

Professional associations

American Public Health Association: The American Public Health Association is the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is concerned with a broad set of issues affecting personal and environmental health.
European Public Health Association: The European Public Health Association is an umbrella organisation for public health associations in Europe. It is an international, multidisciplinary, scientific organisation.
International Association for Impact Assessment: Members of IAIA include corporate planners and managers, public interest advocates, government planners and administrators, private consultants and policy analysts, university and college teachers and their students. There are lots of resources on this site. More if you sign on the dotted line and join up.
Royal Town Planning Institute

Reports & publications

Addressing Health in SEA: A Position Paper: This paper was prepared for the special meeting of IAIA in Prague in 2005. It sets out the context for health in SEA and poses a number of questions for delegates to answer.

A glossary for health impact assessment: As the title suggests: a glossary.
Assessing health impact assessment: multidisciplinary and international perspectives: This article came out of a meeting in the US to explore HIA. It is a valuable critique of HIA which calls, from an academic standpoint, for greater clarity in the process.
Association of Public Health Observatories: The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) facilitates collaborative working of the Public Health Observatories (PHOs) and their equivalents in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The site contains useful information on public health in each region and for each local authority.
Independent Inquiry into Health Inequalities: This independent inquiry was commissioned by Government to contribute to the development of strategy for health and action on inequalities
National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence: NICE is an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health.
The Black Report: The Black report was commissioned in the late 1970s by the Labour Party but was not published until 1980 during a Conservative Government. It shows stark inequalities in health. Only 260 copies were printed.

Research institutions

Centre for Neighbourhood Research: The ESRC Centre for Neighbourhood Research (CNR) was established in 2001. This link takes you to their publications page.
InteReam: UK research group that looks at the effectiveness of environmental management tools and techniques in order to promote continuous and sustainable improvements.
Pathways to outcomes: This interactive website looks at ways to improve the lives of children and families living in America's deprived neighbourhoods. They offer a broad collection of information about what works in social programmes to achieve desired results, including increased rates of children ready for school and higher numbers of economically successful families.
University of the West of England