Bungendore health impact assessment: urban development in a rural setting.

As the majority of the determinants of health are controlled outside the health system, the challenge for promoting health is to find a way of influencing these determinants. Health impact assessment was used in Bungendore, NSW, in an attempt to influence decisions relating to scenarios for urban development. Twelve months after the project was completed, interim evaluation has revealed evidence that the health impact assessment has had a positive effect on preliminary land-use planning work.