Strengthening Health and Equity in Impact Assessments across Europe

Abstract Impact assessments (IAs) can play a vital role in advancing Health and Equity in All Policies by offering a structured approach to evaluate health and equity impacts across sectors. This presentation will share key findings from a study conducted under the Joint Action Prevent NCD, which reviewed IA practices across eight European countries and at the EU level. The goal is to support the integration of health and equity considerations into policymaking by developing a practical checklist that can be applied across all types of IAs. Sixty IA procedures from Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, and EU-level mechanisms were analysed. While health is referenced in most guiding documents, the focus is often limited to physical health, with less attention to broader determinants, mental health, or social wellbeing. Health equity is even less consistently addressed, though some IAs do mention vulnerable groups such as children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Our findings highlight considerable potential to better align current IA practices with the principles of Health and Equity in All Policies. We are now conducting a more detailed analysis of how health and equity are addressed in practice, aiming to identify actionable entry points for more explicit and meaningful integration. This presentation contributes to the broader discussion on embedding equity in Health Impact Assessments and offers practical insights for more inclusive, cross-sectoral policy evaluation across Europe.