Health in All Policies (HiAP) was a term first used in Europe during the Finnish presidency of the European Union (EU), in 2006, with the aim of collaborating across sectors to achieve common goals.
[1][9] HiAP builds off the concepts embedded in "healthy public policies" and "intersectoral action for health," promoted over the past four decades.
[6] The project, which involved the support of the Finnish authorities and the WHO, resulted in significant reductions in cardiovascular disease mortality and has been noted as a successful model for cross-sector collaboration.
[2][14] The South Australian model of HiAP is based on two basic elements: central governance and accountability and a "health lens" analysis process.
The intersectoral-based HiAP strategy aims to improve British Columbians' health by addressing common risk factors and reducing chronic diseases.
Involving local governments, communities, employers, and schools, ActNow BC seeks to develop and promote programs that make British Columbians opt for healthy choices.
[18] HIAs have been conducted to help combat the increasing number of health problems caused by air pollution, pesticide contamination, coal-fired power plants, and other environmental hazards.
HIAs are seen as a valuable tool to promote collaboration between stakeholders to consider diverse interests and identify approaches to design a healthier society.
The principles target improvements in affordable housing, green building, transit, mixed-use development, water management, and brownfield space.
[20] The National Prevention Strategy, published in June 2011, calls for increased coordination between government agencies, as well as partnerships with community organizations, businesses, healthcare providers, and others.
All recommendations are linked to six principles: transport, housing, affordable healthy food, safe neighborhoods, green space, and that decision makers consider health consequences during policy development.
[23] The tools provide metrics to consider health in urban plans and stress the importance of gathering input from community members.
[23] For example, an HIA was conducted in Downtown Los Angeles to assess all the possible health effects of a proposed development of a football stadium.
They developed a report describing current trends in health conditions, demographics, housing, employment, and safety, the expected impact of the proposed stadium, and a list of recommendations for mitigating harm.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) acknowledges that policies made outside of the health sector shape the environments people live in and the choices they make.
[1] The IOM recommends implementing a HiAP approach for more fully addressing the determinants of health, better coordinate efforts across sectors and more effectively using public resources.
Critics note the difficulties inherent in collecting data that provides a description of current (baseline) conditions and predicting estimates of a policy's potential impact on health.
As a contribution to the conference, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has published a book with a global scope to help policy-makers worldwide to implement HiAP.