An equity tool for health impact assessments: Reflections from Mongolia

Journal Article · Sun Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Environmental Impact Assessment Review

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EIAR.2011.08.006· OSTI ID:22058864

Snyder, Jeremy ^[1]; Wagler, Meghan ^[2]; Lkhagvasuren, Oyun ^[2]; Laing, Lory ^[3]; Davison, Colleen ^[4]; Janes, Craig ^[1]

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1. Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6 (Canada)
2. Department of Health, Enkhtaivan Street, Building 13b, Suukhbaatar District, First Khoroo, Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)
3. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-50E University Terrace, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2T4 (Canada)
4. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, 2nd and 3rd Floors, Carruthers Hall, Queen'

A health impact assessment (HIA) is a tool for assessing the potential effects of a project or policy on a population's health. In this paper, we discuss a tool for successfully integrating equity concerns into HIAs. This discussion is the product of collaboration by Mongolian and Canadian experts, and it incorporates comments and suggestions of participants of a workshop on equity focused HIAs that took place in Mongolia in October, 2010. Our motivation for discussing this tool is based on the observation that existing HIAs tend either to fail to define equity or use problematic accounts of this concept. In this paper we give an overview of socio-demographic and health indicators in Mongolia and briefly discuss its mining industry. We then review three accounts of equity and argue for the importance of developing a consensus understanding of this concept when integrating considerations of equity into an HIA. Finally, we present findings from the workshop in Mongolia and outline a tool, derived from lessons from this workshop, for critically considering and integrating the concept of equity into an HIA.

• OSTI ID: 22058864
• Journal Information: Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Journal Name: Environmental Impact Assessment Review Journal Issue: Complete Vol. 34; ISSN 0195-9255; ISSN EIARDK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
HUMAN POPULATIONS
MINING
MONGOLIAN PEOPLES REPUBLIC
PUBLIC HEALTH