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Health Impact Assessment (HIA) guides for practice

The Wales Health Impact Assessment Support Unit (WHIASU) have developed two dedicated Health Impact Assessment (HIA) practical guides to support organisations in applying HIA effectively and consistently.

These guides:

  • Are designed to meet the needs of both public bodies who must carry out statutory HIAs in Wales, and non-statutory users.
  • Promote a structured, evidence-based approach to HIA, which considers health inequalities at its core.
  • Explain the HIA process in plain language.
  • Contain links to templates, resources and checklists required to help carry out a HIA.

Both guides are available to download and can be used individually, or together, depending on your needs.

Health Impact Assessment (Wales) Regulations 2025: A guide for public bodies in Wales

This guide provides step-by-step support to public bodies required to carry out HIAs under the HIA regulations in Wales.

  • Explains the legal requirements and when an HIA is needed
  • Sets out a clear process to follow, from start to finish
  • Includes practical tools, templates, and examples to help ensure compliance and transparency.

This guide can be viewed here. 

Health Impact Assessment (HIA): A practical guide for voluntary best practice in Wales

This guide is designed for organisations and practitioners who wish to undertake a HIA voluntarily as part of good practice. The guide:

  • Encourages the proactive, best practice use of HIA to strengthen decision-making and consider inequalities
  • Is not limited to strategic decisions but is suitable for a range of decisions
  • Outlines the HIA process and flexible methods that can be tailored to projects, policies, or plans of any scale
  • Promotes a participatory approach by engaging with stakeholders to identify a wide range of positive and unintended negative impacts.

View A practical guide to health impact assessment.

Supporting resources

The following resources can be used alongside the HIA guide for practice.

Back to Health Impact Assessment (HIA) topic page