Health in All Policies: Our Ways of Working
There are many ways to apply the Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach to ensure health, wellbeing, sustainability and equity issues are explicitly addressed through policies or decision making.
Complex problems need innovative solutions. The essence of the Canterbury HiAP approach is to identify shared societal goals, and strengthen the link between health and non-health sectors – making improving population health a shared priority. HiAP is an evolving and ongoing process, that works at both strategic and operational levels – for example:
- through assessments;
- by developing formal partnerships;
- by building capacity within and outside the health sector; and
- by collaborating on plans and policies.
- View a timeline summarising HiAP work and relationships in Canterbury – updated June 2022 [151KB].
HiAP assessment guides developed by Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health
Several guides and frameworks are available to ensure that health and wellbeing are explicitly considered and addressed in plans and policies. These were developed by the HiAP team at Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health for planners, designers, policy analysts, developers and others – in partnership with other local organisations.
- Integrated Planning Guide for a healthy, sustainable and resilient future – Version 3.2 is a versatile tool to help integrate outcomes thinking related to health, wellbeing and sustainability into policy and plan making. This version features an updated section on integrating Māori perspectives into this work, promoting that all sectors are responsible for achieving equitable health outcomes for Māori (Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health 2022).
- The Pandemic Supplement to the Integrated Planning Guide provides additional questions and considerations to those in the Integrated Planning Guide Version 3.0 across key dimensions of health specific to planning during recovery from a pandemic or to build ongoing resilience to public health emergencies (Community and Public Health 2020).
- Integrated Planning Guide for a healthy, sustainable and resilient future – Version 3 expanded the focus beyond recovery and provides a versatile tool to help integrate outcomes thinking relevant to health, wellbeing and sustainability into policy and plan making (Community and Public Health 2019).
- Planning for Positive Outcomes gives a summary of concepts related to the social determinants of health, HiAP and integrated planning (Community and Public Health 2012).
- Integrated Recovery Planning Guide: for a healthy, sustainable and resilient future – Version 2 was developed in response to the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes using the dimensions of health introduced in HPSTED (Community and Public Health 2011).
- Health Promotion and Sustainability Through Environmental Design: A guide for planning (HPSTED) was designed to assist planning staff to explicitly integrate outcomes thinking relevant to health, wellbeing and sustainability in their policy making (Christchurch City Council and Community and Public Health 2008).
Other tools to support Health in All Policies assessments
There are a range of other tools used to support a HiAP approach which can be used in the development of plans and policies. These tools are designed to ensure that factors affecting health and wellbeing for all population groups are assessed, and to be used as part of a collaborative process. These tools include:
- Integrated Assessment;
- Health Impact Assessment;
- Inquiry by Design Process;
- Te Pae Māhutonga; and
- Health Equity Assessment Tool.
These HiAP tools are explained in a guide developed by Te Mana Ora. This guide provides information about how to use different tools, and includes links to guides for each tool as well as examples of work where different tools have been used in Canterbury. Contact the HiAP team for further information or to discuss which tool or framework might be most appropriate for a certain situation.
Developing formal partnerships in Canterbury
Developing and working within formal and informal partnerships is another important HiAP approach. Trusting relationships, collaboration, and formal and informal partnerships are essential to implementing HiAP into wider governance and policy structures. HiAP in Canterbury is supported by a network of formal and informal relationships.
Building local capacity in Health in All Policies practices
Spreading the word about the determinants of health and building capacity in HiAP practices are important elements of the HiAP approach in Canterbury. Building capacity is important for working collaboratively across sectors. The HiAP team at Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health have developed and delivered several presentations and workshops to support understanding and implementation of HiAP.
Broadly Speaking is a free interactive workshop delivered by Te Mana Ora staff that aims to develop a greater understanding of those factors, beyond the health sector, that impact on the health of populations. It is delivered to a mixture of participants from health sector organisations.
Growing HiAP across Aotearoa is a series of online hui and webinars to grow understanding of HiAP concept tools and explore how we can develop a national HiAP approach within the National Public Health Service.
A Health in All Policies Conference was held in Christchurch in 2015. A Reflective Practice Day and Conference Day was held to acknowledge and celebrate the significant achievements of 10 years of HiAP in New Zealand. The Conference featured presentations by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, Henare Ngaera O’Keefe, Rob Quigley, and Professor Paul Dalziel.
Health in All Policies work in the National Public Health Service
The Planning, Policy and Perfomance Team for the National Public Health Service (NPHS) – Te Waipounamu undertook a national survey to identify Health in All Policies (HiAP) mahi and training needs across Aotearoa.
This report provides an analysis of responses and provides some suggestions for future direction.
Presentations by the HiAP Team
The HiAP team present at conferences across NZ and internationally. Here is a sample of presentations not available elsewhere:
- United National Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a Health in All Policies goal to create an inclusive, accessible Christchurch (Presented at Disability Matters Conference – Making the Convention Real, Dunedin 2017).
- HiAP in Canterbury (Presented at 15th World Congress on Public Health, Melbourne 2017).
- Land Use Recovery Plan – How an impact assessment process engaged communities in recovery planning (Presented at People in Disasters Conference, Christchurch 2016).
Making submissions to impact the determinants of health
Submissions are an important way to influence the decisions of other organisations and promote public health in decision making – since most factors that affect the health and wellbeing of Cantabrians lie outside of the health system.
The HiAP team coordinate and prepare local submissions on many issues in collaboration with other teams at Te Mana Ora. They also have a strong focus on having input very early on in policy development (especially for Long Term Plans or District Plans).
For further information, contact:
Health in All Policies Team
Ph: +64 3 364 1777
Climate Change and Health in Waitaha Canterbury
The Policy and Information Teams at Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health collaborated to produce this report to increase understanding of the interactions between people, the environment, and the climate in Waitaha Canterbury.
It is designed to provide planners and decision-makers and the wider community with information that can shape the development of effective responses to climate change.
This report describes a broad range of determinants of health and the wellbeing impacts of climate change across Waitaha Canterbury.
Working towards an accessible and inclusive Christchurch
Community and Public Health (through Healthy Christchurch) is supporting planning for a healthy city including healthy urban design. This includes working towards an accessible and inclusive Christchurch.
- View a video on an Accessible Christchurch with subtitles.
- Find out how urban design impacts everyone through the Building for All Portal.
Get the latest on Health in All Policies in Canterbury
The Canterbury Health in All Policies Newsletter is produced by the Policy Team at Community and Public Health. It features HiAP approach in action in Canterbury as well as useful resources and links.