Why conduct a HEIA?
There are many reasons to consider conducting an HEIA. The HEIA tool is designed to provide you and your organization with
way to reduce the health inequities that result from barriers in accessing what people need to live full and healthy lives1.
HEIA can also provide opportunities to raise awareness and build capacity within your team, organization, stakeholders and
policy makers. An HEIA can provide valuable information that can guide the planning and development of your program,
policy, or service. HEIA results can also inform decision regarding where to allocate resources. Conducting an HEIA can also
help your organization to meet its priorities and mandate2. Read our Getting Started with HEIA Tip Sheet for more.
The purpose of this Tip Sheet is to help you plan out why, when and how you will conduct an HEIA on your program, policy,
service or initiative.
Steps for Planning a HEIA
- Clearly define the goal or objective for the HEIA: Why are you conducting an HEIA? What do you/your organization want to accomplish as a result of conducting it? How will you use the results? Use the answers to these questions to clearly define a goal or objective for your HEIA. Keep this goal in mind as you plan and conduct the HEIA.
- Define the parameters: Determine how broad or narrow the HEIA will be: for example, will you look at an entire program or one
aspect of it? What population groups will you focus on? Consider the populations most at risk for health inequities related to your program and/or the topic area. Who needs to be consulted or involved internally and externally? - Identify the methods you will use: The methods that you use to conduct your HEIA will have implications in terms of the resources and time required to conduct the HEIA. Select the methods best suited to achieve the goal identified in Step 1 and the parameters identified in Step 2. Methods to consider include but are not limited to: literature reviews; analysis of existing data (evaluation results, Statistics Canada, local data, etc.); focus groups; and key informant interviews.
- Determine how much time you will take/need: Impact assessments can be generally classified into three types or levels with varying resource-intensity2:
- Desktop assessment: Existing data and resources are used. The HEIA is completed within a few days.
- Rapid assessment: More detailed, involves some consultation/data collection. Usually completed within a
few weeks. - Comprehensive assessment: Involves more extensive research, outreach and consultation. A complete
assessment can take several months.
References
1 Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, Health Equity Impact Assessment Workbook, 2012
2 Tyler I. Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) Training. Workshop presented at: Renfrew County and District Health Unit. 2016
