Health in All Policies Initiative

Communities across the United States face inequities in health outcomes that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors that impact health outcomes include demographics, socioeconomic status, and geography.  

Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a collaborative approach to integrating health considerations into policy decisions across all sectors to improve health and health equity.

For policy support or collaboration opportunities, contact: 

"I often tell my students that there’s no one way to 'do' Health in All Policies, so I hope to see new tools developed that make it easy for communities, policymakers, and decision-makers to routinely consider the health and equity implications of their proposed actions."

— Keshia Pollack Porter 

About Health in All Policies

The Health in All Policies Initiative encourages local, state, and national organizations to include health considerations in policy decisions across multiple sectors, such as housing, transportation, and education through tools that advance health in all policies, including health impact assessments and health notes. The center applies these tools to proposed policies, as well as supports capacity building through training and technical assistance.

News

A red puzzle piece labeled policy is slotted into the last empty space of an otherwise complete, white puzzle piece grid.

Study Finds Health Notes Enhance Legislative Decision-Making

In an effort led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a study on the effectiveness of health notes in influencing legislative decisions has provided compelling insights into their utility and potential for improvement.

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Two women, Department Chair Keshia Pollack Porter and Maryland State Delegate Robbyn T. Lewis, sit in front of a large screen that's entitled Keynote Address: A Conversation With Robbyn T. Lewis

Health in All Policies: Innovative Tools to Integrate Health and Equity Into All Policymaking

On Friday, May 10, attendees from around the country gathered at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C. to engage in dynamic discussions with experts, policymakers, agency staff, and academics regarding Health in All Policies.

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Legislative Health Notes 

In 2018, the Health Impact Project (the Project), formerly a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, launched a pilot initiative to help lawmakers learn the potential health and equity implications of proposed legislation related to housing, education, employment, land-use planning, and other topics where the health impacts are not being widely discussed. Conversations with legislators and previous efforts to use existing analytical frameworks revealed the need for a rapid and responsive tool that can be used during a short legislative session. This need led to the creation of a new tool that the Project coined “heath notes.”  

Legislative health notes can be applied to proposed legislation at the local, state, and federal levels. The Health in All Policies (HiAP) Initiative within the Institute conducts health notes and offers training on the health note methodology and technical assistance opportunities to prospective practitioners. The health note methodology was originally developed by the Health Impact Project, formerly a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. 

Please contact Keshia Pollack Porter or Stefanie Carignan for more information. 

Health Notes & Publications

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