Health in All Policies (HiAP) recognizes that governments have a responsibility for the health of the people that they serve. It is a collaborative and comprehensive proven framework for identifying public policy alternatives that have a positive impact on health outcomes, and avoiding the unintended impacts of public policy that can adversely impact health. The purpose of HiAP is to increase the accountability of policy- and decision-makers to recognize the health impacts of all decisions at all levels. A variety of tools exist to implement HiAP including, but not limited to, health impact assessment, health equity lens analysis, policy audits, environmental impact assessment, budgetary reviews, health matrix, economic assessment, etc.

Health Impact Assessments

• Health Impact Assessments (HIA) are a systematic tool to evaluate the potential positive and negative health impacts from a proposed policy, project, or plan that is not already focused on health. They help identify unintended risks, reduce unnecessary costs, and find practical solutions to improve the health of the community. HIAs are conducted to inform decision-makers by using existing academic research, baseline community data, and input from the community to create a report that provides recommendations to manage potential negative impacts, or optimize anticipated positive impacts. Additionally, HIAs can enhance community engagement and transparency in decision-making by bringing together affected community members and decision-makers to ensure that all perspectives and priorities are included in the decision-making process.

Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Farmers Market HIA 2023

• A HIA was conducted in 2022 on the Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Farmers Market to examine the potential positive and negative health impacts of a farmers market’s permanent structure, location, built environment characteristics, and accessibility as they relate to local food, local economy, and social connectedness. Recommendations for the Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Farmers Market future development are provided in this HIA report and are based on predicted health impacts determined by an extensive literature review and local primary and secondary data, which includes direct data from community input obtained at the farmers market and via an online survey.

Wisconsin Rapids Downtown Senior Housing Development HIA 2018

• The first HIA conducted in Wisconsin Rapids was in 2018 on a senior housing development in the downtown area. The Downtown Senior Housing Development HIA examined how quality affordable housing, site design, and street and sidewalk design each related to active living, safety, and social cohesion and wellbeing. The resulting recommendations are based on the project leads’ extensive literature review of predicted health impacts, as well as their active engagement with developer Northpointe Development Inc., and a community input workshop to ensure the community had a voice in the planning of the housing development. All of these elements made for a transparent and ultimately successful process.