Practical Opportunities to Improve the Impact of Health Risk Assessment on Environmental and Public Health Decisions

Tine Bizjak, Davor Kontić and Branko Kontić
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Tine Bizjak: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Davor Kontić: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Branko Kontić: Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Following alerts about the diminishing role of health risk assessment (HRA) in informing public health decisions, this study examines specific HRA topics with the aim of identifying possible solutions for addressing this compelling situation. The study administered a survey among different groups of stakeholders involved in HRA or decision-making, or both. The responses show various understandings of HRA in the decision-making context—including confusion with the health impact assessment (HIA)—and confirm recurring foundational issues within the risk analysis field that contribute to the growth of inconsistency in the HRA praxis. This inconsistency lowers the effectiveness of HRA to perform its primary purpose of informing public health decisions. Opportunities for improving this situation come at the beginning of the assessment process, where greater attention should be given to defining the assessment and decision-making contexts. Both must reflect the concerns and expectations of the stakeholders regarding the needs and purpose of an HRA on one side, and the methodological and procedural topics relevant for the decision case at hand on the other. The HRA process should end with a decision follow-up step with targeted auditing and the participation of stakeholders to measure its success.

Keywords: risk analysis; health risk assessment; health impact assessment; risk management; decision analysis; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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