Editorial
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619322200500021 |
| Date | 01 September 2005 |
| Pages | 2-2 |
| Published date | 01 September 2005 |
| Author | Elizabeth Parker |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Editorial
basis for modifying policy to bring about, at best,
improvements in health or, at the very least, to avoid a
deterioration in existing health status.
The introduction of health impact assessments can
also support national and local government in realising
their statutory obligations under other legislation. In
order to demonstrate compliance with the Human
Rights Act 1998 authorities need to be able to justify
their decisions in the context of the Act and to show
that human rights considerations were a core element
of their thinking. Likewise, the Race Relations Act
1976 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
require that assessments are made of the way that
services etc impact on the health and wellbeing of
ethnic minorities. In both these areas health impact
assessments are directly relevant.
The potential benefits of (properly conducted)
health impact assessments are huge. The inclusion in
all health impact assessments of a mental health
component would be a significant contribution to
improving the mental health of the population. But for
this to happen we need a mental health impact
assessment toolkit (or even several kits depending on
the type of impact assessment being conducted).
There is little evidence to date of such tools being
developed. This is now a priority issue in the
promotion of mental health.
Elizabeth Parker
References
Department of Health (1999) Saving Lives: Our
Healthier Nation.Cm 4386. London: The Stationery
Office.
2The Mental Health Review Volume 10 Issue 3 September 2005 ©Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) 2005
espite increasing affluence and nearly full
employment, the nation is not possessed of a feeling
of mental wellbeing. Quite the opposite in fact; rates
of mental ill health are rising, as are suicides among
young people and substance misuse, closely associated
with mental illness, continues to be a growing
problem. To tackle this the government has made a
sustained and welcome investment in mental health
services but attention also needs to be given to
creating an environment which promotes mental
health and to avoiding courses of action that are
known to generate mental ill health. The government,
as part of their programme to improve the mental
health of the population, has undertaken to consider
the ‘mental as well as the physical health impact when
developing wider government policies’ (Department
of Health, 1999). The health impact of policies is
gauged by carrying out health impact assessments and
the government has urged local decision makers to
make health impact assessments when planning
investment in local communities. Therearemany
examples of health impact assessments but it is
difficult to judge how far they routinely accompany
policy implementation. Certainly, it is rare for them to
incorporate a mental health component.
Health impact assessments may be carried out
before, during or after policy implementation and may
range in scope from a rapid desk-top exercise using
readily available information to a comprehensive,
detailed and rigorous investigation involving all
stakeholders, an extensive literaturesearch, the
analysis of existing information and the collection of
new data. The purpose of the assessments is to
identify the effects, or potential effects, of policy
implementation on the health of a specificpopulation,
or group within that population, and to provide a valid
D
Editorial note
Please note the acknowledgement for the following article:
Beresford P (2005) The changing role of professor: including everyone’s knowledge and experience. Mental Health Review 10 (2) 3–6.
Acknowledgement
This article was originally written for the National Conference of University Professors Essay Prize (in which it won first prize).
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