Health impact assessment in CEE region: case of the former Czechoslovakia

This paper is based on the authorʹs personnel experience in the Slovak Republic and on information gathered during a health impact assessment (HIA) workshop with participants from Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia. There is a long tradition of health impact assessment in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In the former Czechoslovakia, legislation made in 1966, although it did not explicitly mention HIA, provided a legal basis and made the public hygiene service responsible for assessment of health impacts. However, political structures, prevalent values, reliance on limit-based comparisons, and lack of adequate training meant that HIA had little influence on decision making. Political changes since 1990 are allowing development of HIA. This experience highlights the importance of values and methods in undertaking HIA.