Website of the Department of Health

Screening questions for health impact assessment

The health and well-being screening questions help you consider both the wider determinants of health such as education, housing, employment, environment, crime and transport as well as the possible impacts on people's life styles and the effect there may be on health and care services.

Any proposal may have an impact on health or health inequalities.

These impacts should be considered as one of the specific impact tests in the impact assessment (IA) for each option so that health is designed into national policy.

The questions will help you determine whether there are significant impacts on health and well-being. You will need to record whether there is a health impact in the specific impact test checklist and reference the paragraph in the Evidence Base section of the IA or state if it is in an annex.

The definition of 'significant' is that it refers to the whole population, a major sub group of the population or the degree of severity of the impact.

IAs must assess all of the potential impacts of a policy proposal, particularly their costs and benefits. Some of these, such as education, employment, environment, crime and transport, will also affect health. Where a policy or regulation would affect these wider determinants of health, they should be taken into account in considering health impacts. You will need to consider how the proposal could be re-focused to have a positive impact. For more background information on the assessment of policy impacts on health see the links below.

Some of the health impacts may have already been covered in other specific impact tests and can contribute to the answers to question 1. For example the Environment checklist covers waste, water and noise, Rural Proofing includes access, travel costs, employment and recreation,Sustainable Development relates to transport, housing education and social inclusion, and Equalities Impact Assessment picks up impacts on some of the vulnerable groups,

1. Will your policy have a significant impact on human health by virtue of its effects on the following wider determinants of health?

Income
Crime
Environment
Transport
Housing
Education
Employment
Agriculture
Social cohesion

Consider the potential to have a health impact.

2. Will there be a significant impact on any of the following lifestyle related variables?

Physical activity
Diet
Smoking, drugs, or alcohol use
Sexual behaviour
Accidents and stress at home or work

Consider risk factors that influence the probability of an individual becoming more or less healthy.

3. Is there likely to be a significant demand on any of the following health and social care services?

Primary care
Community services
Hospital care
Need for medicines
Accident or emergency attendances
Social services
Health protection and preparedness response

Consider the likely contacts with health and social service provision.