On Tuesday January 10, 2012 Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. hosted the Bronx’s first Health Impact Assessment (HIA) planning meeting. At this meeting representatives from academia, government, health and not-for-profit world were able to highlight how the well-being of people and communities are determined by a wide range of economic, social and environmental influences. National examples of HIA were also cited to show how it is a participatory approach that helps people from multiple sectors work together.
The Bronx Borough President began the conversation around HIA in 2011 when he mentioned it as a method of improving community health during his State of the Borough address by better monitoring growth and development. In 2012, his office committed to advancing the conversation by bringing together city agencies, elected officials and local stakeholders and leaders to better determine how the utilization of HIA’s will lead to improving health and reducing inequalities of Bronx residents.
At this meeting Lourdes J. Hernández-Cordero, DrPH Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health presented the following "Intro to Health Impact Assessment(s)" to the audience.
NYC Strategic Alliance for Health staff will continue to work with the Borough President's Office to schedule following disucssions with all community stakeholders.