Browse by Issue Area

Human Impact Partners, with the guidance of 12 housing justice and public health experts, explored the threat that corporate landlords pose to housing conditions and public health. We build the case for public health and governmental action to counteract corporate landlords’ exacerbation of the national housing and health crisis.

This report explores how climate change and transition impact the health of California workers and the communities where they live.

Developed by the CDC Foundation in collaboration with HIP, this report draws upon the experiences of over 144 health department and CBO leaders to make recommendations for how to strengthen partnerships between health departments and community-based organizations.

This primer reviews what right to counsel laws are, how they advance racial and health justice, and ways public health practitioners can support right to counsel efforts.

HIP’s 2023 Year in Review offers a look back at what we accomplished in the past year, and some of the key lessons we learned along the way.

These resources for public health organizations share principles, practices, and tools for building containers and implementing heart-centered practices in their equity work.

This report describes how the inappropriate use of a public health imperative to require workers to pay for food safety training directly contravenes basic and widely accepted public health principles of providing critical community health information free to the most vulnerable members of a community.

We produced a series of three videos about innovative community-government partnerships that are building and sharing power for health equity.

We collaborated with Californians United for a Responsible Budget; California Coalition for Women Prisoners; and Transgender, Gender-variant, and Intersex Justice Project to create a research report, fact sheet, and social media tiles about the harms of women’s prisons.

We developed three new community health assessment tools – the MAPP Community Context Assessment, the MAPP Community Partner Assessment and the MAPP Power Primer – for local health departments and others to use during Community Health Improvement processes.

HIP’s research team created this Code of Ethics to hold ourselves accountable to practicing research that is responsible, equitable, and just. We developed this resource with guidance from community organizers we have partnered with on previous research projects.

Developed with the expertise of housing organizers, this toolkit distills public health research into talking points and data access guidance that housing and health advocates can easily plug into their campaigns or communications.

Research brief in partnership with North Bay Jobs with Justice describing how wine industry and governmental labor policies harm Sonoma County farmworkers’ safety and economic security in the context of climate crises.

A healthy democracy is critical for healthy communities, and health departments have a critical role to play to ensure that all communities have a say in the conditions and decisions that impact their lives. Here are five actions health departments can take to ensure healthy voting.

This suite of resources and activities is designed for governmental health departments and agencies to dive into power: what it is, who holds it, and how to leverage and redistribute it to create more equitable and healthy communities.

This resource guides health departments through the why and how of partnering with Community Power-Building Organizations (CPBOs) to advance health equity, via four guides with activities to build capacity and lay the groundwork for power sharing partnerships.

This guide is intended to serve as a tool to support community organizers to engage with governmental public health to advance campaign or policy change goals.

Book chapter authored by HIP co-directors Lili Farhang and Solange Gould featured in the new collection “Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners.”

We partnered with Critical Resistance to provide examples of how local, state, and territorial health departments can use the 10 Essential Public Health Services to support abolitionist visions and campaigns.

Resource created in partnership with Interrupting Criminalization, Abortion Care Network, Elephant Circle, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction, If/When/How, and the National Network of Abortion Funds on how abortion decriminalization is part of the larger struggle against policing and criminalization, and how our movements can organize in solidarity with each other.

Research brief demonstrates the measurable benefits to public health and health equity that would result from a $5 an hour wage increase at Walmart.

Health Equity Guide created in partnership with HealthBegins, Health Leads, JSI, SIREN at UCSF, and HIP to provide healthcare leaders with guidance for how to deepen, broaden, and elevate their organization’s health equity work, via a framework and process for transformation and accountability.

We partnered with the Dignity Not Detention Coalition to create a resource outlining recommendations for what healthy, just, and supportive immigration policy can look like for unaccompanied youth immigrating to the US, without relying on detention or detention-like facilities.

Article published in NACCHO Exchange, the quarterly publication by the National Association of County & City Health Officials, that describes frameworks to explore the concepts of power and community power building as well as ways that health departments can use these concepts as part of a strategy to advance health equity.

Research brief developed in partnership with United For Respect reveals that Walmart could have prevented at least 7,618 COVID-19 cases and saved 133 lives last year with an adequate paid sick time policy — and urges Walmart to institute an expanded and universally accessible paid leave policy for all employees.

We developed a series of research briefs in partnership with Chainbreaker Collective to examine the scale and public health impacts of the COVID-19 era eviction crisis on renter households in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

With support from the California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity, we created this resource with recommendations and actions that local health departments can take to protect worker health and safety during COVID-19 and beyond.

We partnered with Fresno Barrios Unidos to create a research brief about the health harms of school policing and the public health benefits of investing in non-punitive supports for students.

The COVID-19 pandemic — and the large number of cases and deaths in jails, prisons, and detention centers — has laid bare the urgent need for decarceration as a public health strategy. This resource includes 8 recommendations and specific actions health departments can take to address the harms of incarceration.

We partnered with Warehouse Worker Resource Center to develop a research brief and two factsheets on the physical and mental health impacts that Amazon’s inhumane quota and tracking systems have on warehouse workers and delivery drivers.

We partnered with United for a New Economy and 9to5 Colorado to research how the housing instability crisis in Colorado impacts the health of low- and moderate-income renters, and developed policy recommendations to repeal the statewide ban on rent stabilization policies in support of public health and equity.

HIP developed this Equity Lens Tool in partnership with Big Cities Health Coalition to support health departments in more directly and routinely addressing equity in COVID-19 planning, response, and recovery decision making.

Public health guide offering general best practices and collective care recommendations for protesting and organizing safely during COVID-19, developed in collaboration with Right to the City Alliance to support ongoing anti-eviction and housing justice work.

In support of the Schools and Communities First campaign to reform commercial property tax in California, we developed a set of infographics to showcase how restoring county resources can advance health equity. We are also mobilizing public health to join the campaign to pass Prop 15, the statewide initiative which will be on the California ballot in November 2020.

A healthy democracy is critical for healthy communities, and health departments have a critical role to play to ensure that all communities have a say in the conditions and decisions that impact their lives. Here are five actions health departments can take to ensure healthy voting.

Research brief in collaboration with Chainbreaker Collective on the health impacts of developing a Community Land Trust to stabilize housing in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Owing to the collective work of movement builders and advocates, the field of public health has begun to reckon with the longstanding and well documented health impacts of policing and incarceration. This resource includes 5 recommendations and specific actions for health departments to take to help end police violence.

We partnered with the Asian Prisoner Support Committee and Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus to create a research brief, toolkit, and resources to address the health impacts of direct transfers from California prisons and jails to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Communities across the US are protesting in response to the ongoing police killings of Black people and to wider social conditions that demonstrate a history of structural violence and racism against communities of color. Here are 5 steps that local and state health departments can take to protect public health in the context of these uprisings and demonstrate support for protesters’ and their demands.

We partnered with the End Police Violence Collective and Community Justice Exchange to create messaging toolkits responding to policing and incarceration approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lead Local was a collaborative research project seeking to answer the question: How does community power catalyze, create and sustain conditions for healthy communities? As part of this project, HIP developed a primer on power, housing justice and health equity with Right to the City Alliance and a survey of health departments collaborating with community organizers.

We partnered with Community Advocates Public Policy Institute in Milwaukee to research how the affordability, quality, and stability of housing affect the health of renters, and developed policy recommendations that will improve housing, health, and equity for renters in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

National research report on the pathways through which pretrial incarceration and money bail impact health with considerations for how to prioritize community health instead of punishment. We partnered with Faith in Florida for the first county-specific research brief to inform local policy decisions.

Research report in partnership with Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction), revealing intersecting threats — of exploitative community owner practices, destructive climate disasters, and ineffective disaster recovery programs — to the health and well-being of Florida’s manufactured home community residents.

Research report in collaboration with Gig Workers Rising, examining the health impacts of driving for a ride-hail company like Lyft or Uber.

In partnership with the Los Angeles County Office of Youth Diversion and Development, we created an evaluation framework for assessing racial equity in youth diversion.

A report synthesizing deliberations from a national meeting to improve the consideration of equity in lead poisoning prevention policy making.

We partnered with Free Hearts in Tennessee, Operation Restoration in Louisiana, and Families for Justice & Healing in Massachusetts to research the health and equity impacts of expanding the use of community-based alternatives to incarceration for convicted parents in each of those states. We produced state-specific reports and fact sheets to inform policy decision-making at the state level on this important issue.

Research report in collaboration with Missouri Faith Voices on the health impacts of predatory lending and how the industry unfairly targets vulnerable communities in Missouri.

A report showcasing the effects on the health of children, parents, and families who live in the Rio Grande Valley when they live in fear of a parent or household loved one being deported, or if they’ve already experienced forced family separation as a result of deportation.

A report that reveals policy gaps and proposes solutions for how California Paid Family Leave (PFL) and additional workplace policies can serve all working family caregivers as they care for their loved ones in times of need.

HealthEquityGuide.org is a resource with inspiring examples of how health departments have concretely advanced health equity — both internally within their departments and externally with communities and other government agencies.

Research and organizing tools on how unstable work hours affect the health and mental health of workers and families.

The Narrative Development Toolkit is a resource intended to support community organizers and health equity advocates in developing, using, and adapting transformational narratives to advance equity in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems. This resource was developed by a workgroup of the National Criminal Justice and Public Health Alliance.

Health Solutions Create Safety is a robust list of 36 replicable programs or interventions and 25 policies that respond to social challenges with public health solutions rather than punitive criminal justice processes. This resource was developed by a workgroup of the National Criminal Justice and Public Health Alliance to help communities achieve shared safety.

We produced a report evaluating the health and equity impacts of charging 17-year-olds in juvenile court rather than adult court in Michigan. We also mobilized public health to join the campaign to pass Raise the Age legislation in Michigan.

In 2017, we mobilized public health support for the early California Money Bail Reform Act. In 2018 the Act changed significantly, and many of the original sponsors withdrew their support. The materials here reflect early versions of the Act.

A report on the health impacts of youth arrest in Michigan that highlights a set of promising alternatives to youth arrest including civil citations and trauma-informed approaches.

A report showcasing interventions both inside and outside of the justice system to improve health and well-being of Riverside County residents —also including a budget analysis of Riverside County “public protection” spending.

A report on health impacts of charging youth as adults, with recommendations for increased community investment and restorative justice-oriented solutions.

A report on health impacts of current practice in Wisconsin to incarcerate people for breaking rules of parole, probation, or supervision but who have not been convicted of a new crime, and recommendations to change that practice.

The Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment’s Equity Workgroup (which HIP was a member of) published this planning and evaluation framework to help practitioners plan their approach to addressing equity in their HIA.

An example of our training binder that HIP uses when it conducts a two-day HIA training. Includes slides, worksheets, exercises, and other resources that we use over the course of the training.

An HIA of expanding access to preschool in Cincinnati, OH.

An assessment of the barriers and successes that public health departments have experienced in participating in criminal justice system reform, with recommendations for action.

Assessment of the health and safety implications of transporting coal through Oakland.

Process and impact evaluation of LACDPH Parks After Dark and Women’s Re-Entry Court HIAs.

An HIA on health impacts of policies that exclude people with criminal records from public housing, with a case study in Oakland, CA.

An HIA of payday lending reforms in Minnesota.

The Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment’s Equity Workgroup (which HIP was a member of) developed this guide to aid HIA practitioners in how to communicate around equity within HIA while purposefully advancing equity.

A report looking at the health impacts of climate change in Northampton, Massachusetts. This report is unique in that it looks at climate change in a very local context, whereas most reports about climate change and health are on a state- or region-wide basis.

A two-year study that looked at how community participation impacted core HIA values like democracy and equity, and how participation affected the success of the HIA.

A collection of data on local health status and inequities, relevant public health research, and community and stakeholder input, to inform prioritization of 65 strategies in The Healthy Chula Vista Action Plan, in California.

An HIA on a proposed 50-mile multi-use path for pedestrians, bicycles, and low-speed electric vehicles. HIP led the HIA process and wrote the draft report. Riverside University Health System–Public Health and Coachella Valley Association of Governments edited and finalized the report and released it in November 2015.

An assessment of policing practices in Ohio, with specific focus on impacts to black people and police.

The Los Angeles Coalition Against Wage Theft used our HIA research and associated advocacy by health professionals to deepen support for the ordinance among city council members. The ordinance passed in 2015. In addition, the California Fair Paycheck Coalition used the HIA and advocacy from health professionals to win the passage of a statewide wage theft bill, SB 588, in 2015.

A report on health and equity effects of a proposed development in South Central Los Angeles.

An HIA examining gang injunction in Santa Ana, CA.

A comment letter and HIA of a proposed road extension in an environmental justice community in New Mexico.

A report analyzing public resource allocation and risk of displacement in neighborhoods of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

An HIA of a proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline project in Torrance County, New Mexico.

An HIA on a bill to reinstate tuition assistance for people in prison in New York State.

HIP developed and implemented a new model for conducting rapid HIAs. This model aimed to conduct an HIA within a short decision-making timeline, while maintaining a high level of stakeholder engagement in the process.

HIAs on School Discipline and Restorative Justice Policies in Los Angeles, Oakland, Salinas and Merced, California

An HIA of a statewide ballot initiative in California that reclassifies low-level non-violent crimes to misdemeanors and redirects funding to treatment and prevention.

Restorative justice and health in Merced schools; Improving health impacts through school discipline policy in Merced, CA.

HIA practitioners, including HIP, developed and published this document to provide minimum elements and standards for practice in HIA.

An HIA of a proposed skatepark in San Diego, CA.

Abstract: There has been a surge of interest in Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the United States, contributing to a range of practices that vary in their effort, duration, and complexity.

Rapid analysis to inform California legislature of health impacts from a bill proposed to raise the statewide minimum wage.

A report on health and equity considerations to inform how money is allocated to California schools.

Two-page summaries that walk through each of the steps in HIA, as well as community participation in HIA.

HIP published this brief to document how the Alameda County Public Health Department transformed its culture and practice to focus on non-traditional policies that impact health inequities while continuing to provide traditional and essential public health services and programming.

HIP published this paper to highlight for community organizers how a health perspective broadly, and Health Impact Assessment specifically, can be an effective strategy in organizing campaigns, and can be used to build community power and bring about policy wins.

HIP developed this set of questions and answers to support people interested in better understanding how HIA relates to the field of Environmental Impact Assessment.

An examination of a continued policy of immigrant detentions and deportations at the federal level.

An HIA of a proposed policies to encourage school racial/ethnic integration in Minnesota.

The Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment’s Equity Workgroup (which HIP is a member of) published this primer on: 1) how HIA practitioners and equity advocates can ensure that the practice of HIA maintains a strong focus on promoting equity and 2) how HIA can be used as a tool to support equitable decision-making processes and outcomes.

A quick summary of the who, what, when, where and why of HIA (English, Spanish) + video of HIA.

A series of HIAs examining paid sick days legislation at local, state and federal levels.

An HIA examining an increase in funding for treatment alternatives in Wisconsin.

An HIA of proposed changes to residential Code Enforcement policies in Marin County, CA.

An HIA of a proposed stadium development project in downtown Los Angeles, CA.

An HIA of a proposed land use plan in Los Angeles, CA.

A national workgroup of HIA practitioners (which HIP was a member of) developed this resource to show practitioners how to effectively and meaningfully involve diverse stakeholders at every stage of an HIA.

An HIA of proposed federal regulations related to public housing management

The National Research Council of the National Academies of Science published this book in 2011 to provide a definition, framework, and criteria for HIA, as well as to discuss issues in and challenges to the development and practice of HIA.

An HIA of a proposed freeway expansion project in Los Angeles, CA.

Health impact assessments (HIAs) enable decisions-makers to assess proposed policies, projects and programmes with respect to their potential health impact. The purpose of this rapid HIA was to inform the debate within a state legislature about the value of state policy…

Abstract: Stakeholder consultation is a key mechanism in impact assessment. It not only helps identify what benefits may occur, but the process of consultation itself may also generate positive outcomes.

Abstract: Air pollution contributes to asthma, allergies, lung function impairment,
cardiovascular disease, and premature mortality. Transit-oriented development,
roadway expansion, new residential and commercial development, and pollution
mitigation projects impact local and regional air quality…

HIP developed this toolkit to introduce and define HIA, describe each step of the HIA process, and discuss other aspects of HIA such as collaboration and when to use HIA.

Dr. Rajiv Bhatia (one of HIP’s co-founders) developed this guide to support practitioners in the field. It describes the key tasks and activities for HIA as well as the issues and challenges that arise in the course of practice.

Health impact assessment (HIA) offers public health practitioners a concrete way to influence the social and environmental determinants of health and health inequities.

Abstract: As a tool for deliberately planning for and optimizing the ways in which we design our environments, Health Impact Assessment (HIA) holds promise for achieving environmental justice and health equity…

An HIA of a proposed low-income senior housing development project in Oakland, CA