Undertaking the first health impact assessment on a city development plan in Ireland: a case study

Health impact assessment (HIA), as a way to embed Health in All Policies, has been endorsed in Irish public health strategies since 2001. However, practice has varied. Given the demonstrated effectiveness of HIA in improving health considerations in projects, programmes and policies, and the relationship between the built environment and public health, an HIA on the Cork City Development Plan (2022–2028) was undertaken, with a focus on the 15-minute policy objective in the Core Strategy. Using the HIA stagiest approach as outlined in the Institute of Public Health Ireland guidance, combined with additional practice-based guidance, the HIA examined the policy objective through the lens of six determinants of health, namely housing, neighbourhood design, access to public spaces, models of travel, walkability, and accessible workplaces across three population groups, including older people, young people, and people living on low-income. Likely and significant health impacts were found associated with the policy objective implementation. Eleven recommendations were created, based on the health impact analysis, to promote population health and healthy equity for city inhabitants. The article shares reflections and lessons learned when undertaking an HIA in an unchartered policy context, using new HIA guidance with team members that are new to HIA practice.