Developed by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland on behalf of the Department of Health and Children, this document describes Health Impact Assessment (HIA) and the steps involved in HIA. It gives advice based on the experience of HIA practitioners and provides tools to help carry out these steps and adapt HIA to local circumstances. 

The document aims to provide a user friendly and practical framework to guide policy makers through the HIA process and to enable them to undertake a HIA. This is the first detailed methodology for HIA in Ireland. The development of methodology is an iterative process and this document will be reviewed in the light of feedback from users and ongoing developments in HIA.