Health in All Policies
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Health in All Policies or “healthy public policy” is based on the idea that health starts with where people live, work, learn, and play and that individual and community health is influenced by more than just individual choices. One’s physical and psychosocial environment, culture, government, etc. all play a role in influencing and determining both individual and population health. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is the integrated and comprehensive approach to bring health, well-being, and equity considerations into the development and implementation of policies, programs, and services of traditionally non-health related government systems or agencies.
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HiAP is premised on the following:
- Health starts long before illness and before you reach a hospital or doctor’s office
- Health starts in our families, in our schools and workplaces, in our communities
- Your neighborhood, school or job should not be hazardous to your health
- All Richmond residents should have the opportunity to make the choices that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their job, neighborhood of residence, level of education, immigration status, sexual orientation, or ethnic background
- City government can and does influence health in many of its decisions and Departments
For presentations and other background materials on Richmond's HiAP initiative please click here or see below:
- Richmond HiAP Tool Kit
- Richmond's Health Videos
- Presentation from UC Berkeley's Center for Health Leadership Conference Power Point
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The HiAP concept recognizes that the causes of health disparities and the resulting health inequities are the consequence of a variety of social factors that include income inequality, economic forces, education quality, environmental conditions, individual health behavior choice, and access to health care. Health disparities are not fair, nor are they inevitable.
This concept acknowledges that all city departments impact health, even those we do not traditionally consider as conducting health-related work. Richmond’s Health in All Policies Strategy is being developed as a collaborative approach with the goal of improving health equity by addressing the social determinants of health and integrating health into the decision making process across all departments of the City.
Adapted from NACCHO.
Cumulative Stress
A driving theory behind the HiAP Strategy is that the cumulative impact on the body of multiple stressors is a key driver that explains the persistence of poor health outcomes disproportionately afflicting people of color in Richmond. Thus, Richmond’s HiAP Strategy may take a multidimensional and integrated approach to reducing the cumulative stressors that occur from an early age and throughout life in the most vulnerable Richmond neighborhoods. By focusing on cumulative stressors, we hope to reduce the occurrence of many chronic illnesses and premature mortality for Richmond residents who are currently experiencing health disparities.
Source: Professor Jason Corburn, University of California, Berkeley
Health in All Policies Ordinance
The adoption of a Health in All Policies Ordinance is a key step to institutionalizing and operationalizing HiAP in the City of Richmond. The HiAP Ordinance can serve as the foundation to fully implement Health in All Policies, potentially providing definitions of health related terms and a goal of incorporating health equity and social justice foundational practices into City operations, policies, and programs; mandating the establishment of an interdepartmental team to carry out the work of HiAP; referencing the Health in All Policies Strategy Document as the guiding document for HiAP implementation and monitoring; creating an annual reporting mechanism such as a Health Equity Report Card that can be developed collaboratively with CCHS; and requiring an ongoing community engagement process.
Health in All Policies Strategy Document
The City of Richmond is currently in the process of drafting a guiding HiAP Strategy Document that aims to operationalize HiAP. This Strategy Document may identify short and long-term goals for individual departments and the City as a whole, and align with the City's General Plan, 5-Year Strategic Business Plan, and the Current Fiscal Year Budget. The Strategy Document may also include performance measures enabling the City to monitor progress and identify areas for improvement. Additional HiAP meetings will be held over the next 3-6 months to obtain broad community feedback on the development of the Strategy Document. A draft of the HiAP Strategy Document and Ordinance may be made available to the public for review and comment in approximately 3-6 months.
HiAP Resources
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