''Health Impact Assessments Take on Broader Role in Cities and States''
Aaron Wernham, director of the Health Impact Project discusses the benefits of health impact assessments in this edition of Governing.
More info"Eating healthier is one of Mayor Karl Dean’s 2012 resolutions. So far, so good, he says. Though, he admits, it’s becoming more difficult as we move deeper into January.
Maintaining momentum is key to achieving any resolution, and just as Dean commits to sustaining his personal goals, he resolves to put continued emphasis on healthy living throughout Nashville this year.
He, along with other city officials, is calling for Nashvillians to do the same during NashVitality Week. The inaugural affair, which began Sunday and continues through Saturday, challenges all of Nashville to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
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The final piece of NashVitality Week is a series of health impact assessment workshops. The first takes place today; another will take place Friday and the third on Jan. 25.
The idea behind the workshops is to teach people how to analyze potential health effects of policies, plans or projects that are developed without a specific focus on health."
Aaron Wernham, director of the Health Impact Project discusses the benefits of health impact assessments in this edition of Governing.
More infoThe Health Impact Project announced eight new grant recipients that will receive funding to conduct health impact assessments, or HIAs. The projects will bring health considerations into upcoming decisions on topics including education, sanitation infrastructure, and energy. The grantees were selected based on their response to a national call for proposals.
More infoThe city of Greenville, South Carolina recently completed a yearlong health impact assessment with support from Pew's Health Impact Project.
More infoThe Health Impact Project announces a request for proposals (RFP) that will fund three grants of up to $100,000 each to identify and address potential health impacts of an upcoming decision in each of their communities or state through the use of health impact assessments (HIA).
More infoThe New York Times interviews Aaron Wernham, project director for the Health Impact Project, about the growing field of health impact assessments.
More infoMinnesota organizations are invited to participate in an in-person training to learn about health impact assessments (HIAs). An HIA can help improve the well-being of local communities by incorporating health into decisions in other sectors.
More info"A new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation concludes that getting rid of junk food at school boosts kids’ health and doesn’t hurt schools financially. Even many snack food companies are on board."
More info"'The evidence is clear and compelling,' said Jessica Donze Black, director of the Kids’ Safe & Healthful Foods Project in a press release. 'Implementing strong national nutrition standards to make the snacks and beverages our children consume healthier is something that schools and districts can afford. The USDA should do all it can to finalize and help implement strong standards.'"
More infoAaron Wernham, director of the Health Impact Project, explains how by systematically assessing the health risks of development decisions upfront, health impact assessments can prevent costly and harmful mistakes.
More info"A study released late last month delivers the message: Make competitive foods offered in schools healthier, too. The study was a collaboration between the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and came from two projects, the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project – the director, Jessica Donze Black, is a University of Delaware graduate – and the Health Impact Project."
More infoThe Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, announced a call for proposals for grants to conduct health impact assessments (HIAs). HIAs identify and address the health impacts of decisions in other sectors, such as planning roads, passing agriculture legislation, or siting schools.
More infoPew and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation collaborate to examine impact of updated USDA standards for snack and a la carte foods and beverages sold in schools.
More info"A recent study has reaffirmed what local school officials already knew: Student health and school budgets can both benefit from higher nutrition standards."
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