Health Impact Asssessment of Port Sohar-Yale University
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Transcript of Health Impact Asssessment of Port Sohar-Yale University
Introduction
Doctors advise their patients on how they
can stay healthy.
Health Impact Assessment
(HIA) provides the same
advice to communities.
This advice helps the
Communities make informed choices
about improving public health
through community design.
Health Impact Assessment?
The National Research Council defines it:
“HIA is a systematic process that uses an array of
data sources and analytic methods and considers
input from stakeholders to determine the potential
effects of a proposed policy, plan, program, or project
on the health of a population and the distribution of
those effects within the population.”
How to conduct a HIA?
Conducting a HIA is composed of six-
steps.
This is the clearest way to organize
and describe the elements of HIA.
What are the Steps?
The major steps in conducting an HIA
include:
1. Screening
2. Scoping
3. Assessing risks and benefits
4. Developing recommendations
5. Reporting
6. Monitoring and evaluating
Scoping
Identifies which health effects to
consider in an affected population
from a certain plan, project or a policy.
Assessing risks and benefits
This step Identifies:
1. People who may be affected.
2. How they may be affected.
Developing
Recommendations
Identify alternatives to the proposal
Identify specific actions that could be
taken to avoid, minimize, or mitigate
adverse effects
Take advantage of opportunities for a
proposal to improve health
Reporting
The communication of findings and
recommendations to:
1. Decision-makers
2. The public
3. Other stakeholders
Monitoring and Evaluating
Monitoring can consist of:
1. Tracking the adoption and
implementation of HIA
recommendations.
2. Tracking changes in health
indicators.
as a new policy, program, plan, or
project is implemented.
Monitoring and Evaluating
Evaluation can be:
1. Process evaluation (evaluation of whether the HIA was conducted according to its plan of action and applicable standards)
2. Impact evaluation (evaluation of whether the HIA influenced the decision-making process)
3. Outcome evaluation (evaluation of whether implementation of the proposal changes health outcomes or health determinants)
Port Sohar
Port of Sohar is a deep sea port.
The management of the port lies with
Sohar Industrial Port Company
SAOC, a 50/50 joint venture between
the Government of Oman and the Port
of Rotterdam.
Port Sohar
Port of Sohar houses three clusters: logistics, petrochemicals and metals.
World-leading companies:
1. Vale
2. Air Liquide
3. Larsen & Toubro
4. Methanol Holding International
5. Jindal Power & Steel
are established in Port of Sohar.
Screening
Why does this project need a HIA?
Because of the existence of public
concern or controversy regarding health
effects of a current project.
Scoping
Population of the affected area
complains of respiratory diseases and
increased rates of oncological
diseases.
Scoping
Health affects that should be
considered in this project:
1. Respiratory diseases.
2. Oncological diseases.
3. Poisoning from chemicals
4. Dermatological diseases
5. Environmental concerns
Assessing risks and benefits
Who are the people affected?
Residents of the village beside the port.
Specially young children.
How are they affected?
Mainly by air, through smoke, dust, and
the smell of chemicals.
But there are other ways of exposure to
consider.
Assessing risks and benefits
So we need data to assess the
baseline of the village residents for the
diseases of concerns and other
diseases that might arise from the
exposures from the factories.
Developing
Recommendations First, the people should be included
Second, Both Ministries of Health and
Ministry of Environment & Climate
Affairs should be involved.
Third, The Port of Sohar authorities
should be involved and the companies
Developing
Recommendations General Recommendations:
1. Apply international standards on
control of smoke, dust and other
exposures.
2. Move the residents of affected areas
to a safer place.
3. Develop better policies on how to get
of chemical waste.
Reporting
This should be reported to the:
Ministry of Health
Ministry of Environment & Climate
Affairs
Majles al Shura (Omani Parliament)
Companies involved in Port Sohar
The public through the media
Monitoring and Evaluating
Monitoring should be done through
“Health Indicators”.
Evaluating should be done through
“Outcome Evaluation”
References
CDC:
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/hia.
htm
Improving Health in the United States:
The Role of Health Impact
Assessment
WHO: http://www.who.int/hia/en/
Acknowledgement
Occupational and Environmental
Health Department -Yale University;
For their support and welcoming
during my elective period.
Dr.Khalid Al Maani a fellow medical
Student and a dear friend for his help
in providing information, that
contributed to this presentation.