1. The challenge of assessing social cohesion in health impact assessment
- Author
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Julie Romagon, Françoise Jabot, École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP), Centre de Recherches sur l'Action Politique en Europe (ARENES), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Rennes-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Rennes-École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique [EHESP] (EHESP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Département des sciences humaines et sociales (SHS), and IUHPE
- Subjects
Health (social science) ,social cohesion ,Population ,urban planning ,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences ,03 medical and health sciences ,equity ,0302 clinical medicine ,Urban planning ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Social determinants of health ,Sociology ,City Planning ,Cooperative Behavior ,education ,Environmental planning ,Neighbourhood (mathematics) ,Built environment ,education.field_of_study ,030505 public health ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Social environment ,built environment ,Policy ,social capital ,[SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie ,France ,Health Impact Assessment ,0305 other medical science ,Health impact assessment ,Strengths and weaknesses - Abstract
Summary Health impact assessment (HIA) is a method by which a policy, programme or project falling outside traditional health fields, may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population to mitigate negative impacts and strengthen the positive ones. Proposals are analysed from the perspective of all the determinants of health. In France, HIAs are mainly applied to urban development projects where social cohesion (SCo) is a major issue. Although the HIA method is well structured as a step-by-step process, there are no guidelines for assessing SCo. This article opens with literature review to clarify the concept of SCo and to understand how the built environment influences SCo and how social environment influence health. Drawing on this work, this paper presents an analytical framework to assess SCo, integrating both the spatial and physical dimensions of urban design and the perceptions of the neighbourhood characteristics. Following a brief overview of the key findings from applying this framework to HIA of an urban development project, the paper discusses its related strengths and weaknesses. The framework could be a useful tool for HIA as it embraces knowledge from both urban planning and social sciences. It also allows for an overall analysis of all the indicators without relying on a checklist. Nevertheless, it should be tested further to improve its validity.
- Published
- 2020