BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in "Health in All Policies" approaches, aiming at promoting health through policies which are under the control of nonhealth sectors. While economic appraisal is an established practice in transport planning, health effects are rarely taken into account. An international project was carried out to develop guidance and tools for practitioners for quantifying the health effects of cycling and walking, supporting their full appraisal. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: A systematic review of existing approaches was carried out. Then, the products were developed with an international expert panel through an extensive consensus finding process. PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS: Methodological guidance was developed which addresses the main challenges practitioners encounter in the quantification of health effects from cycling and walking. A "Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for cycling" was developed which is being used in several countries. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a more consistent approach to the quantification of health benefits from cycling and walking. This project is providing guidance and an illustrative tool for cycling for practical application. Results show that substantial savings can be expected. Such tools illustrate the importance of considering health in transport policy and infrastructure planning, putting "Health in All Policies" into practice.
BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in "Health in All Policies" approaches, aiming at promoting health through policies which are under the control of nonhealth sectors. While economic appraisal is an established practice in transport planning, health effects are rarely taken into account. An international project was carried out to develop guidance and tools for practitioners for quantifying the health effects of cycling and walking, supporting their full appraisal. DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: A systematic review of existing approaches was carried out. Then, the products were developed with an international expert panel through an extensive consensus finding process. PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS: Methodological guidance was developed which addresses the main challenges practitioners encounter in the quantification of health effects from cycling and walking. A "Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for cycling" was developed which is being used in several countries. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for a more consistent approach to the quantification of health benefits from cycling and walking. This project is providing guidance and an illustrative tool for cycling for practical application. Results show that substantial savings can be expected. Such tools illustrate the importance of considering health in transport policy and infrastructure planning, putting "Health in All Policies" into practice.
Authors: Felipe Montes; Olga L Sarmiento; Roberto Zarama; Michael Pratt; Guijing Wang; Enrique Jacoby; Thomas L Schmid; Mauricio Ramos; Oscar Ruiz; Olga Vargas; Gabriel Michel; Susan G Zieff; Juan Alejandro Valdivia; Nick Cavill; Sonja Kahlmeier Journal: J Urban Health Date: 2012-02 Impact factor: 3.671
Authors: Pablo D Lemoine; Olga L Sarmiento; Jose David Pinzón; Jose D Meisel; Felipe Montes; Dario Hidalgo; Michael Pratt; Juan Manuel Zambrano; Juan Manuel Cordovez; Roberto Zarama Journal: J Urban Health Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 3.671
Authors: Gregory W Heath; Diana C Parra; Olga L Sarmiento; Lars Bo Andersen; Neville Owen; Shifalika Goenka; Felipe Montes; Ross C Brownson Journal: Lancet Date: 2012-07-21 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Jacqueline Kerr; Jennifer A Emond; Hannah Badland; Rodrigo Reis; Olga Sarmiento; Jordan Carlson; James F Sallis; Ester Cerin; Kelli Cain; Terry Conway; Grant Schofield; Duncan J Macfarlane; Lars B Christiansen; Delfien Van Dyck; Rachel Davey; Ines Aguinaga-Ontoso; Deborah Salvo; Takemi Sugiyama; Neville Owen; Josef Mitáš; Loki Natarajan Journal: Environ Health Perspect Date: 2015-07-17 Impact factor: 9.031
Authors: Oliver T Mytton; Marko Tainio; David Ogilvie; Jenna Panter; Linda Cobiac; James Woodcock Journal: Eur J Epidemiol Date: 2017-03-03 Impact factor: 8.082
Authors: Laura Webber; Oliver T Mytton; Adam D M Briggs; James Woodcock; Peter Scarborough; Klim McPherson; Simon Capewell Journal: Eur J Epidemiol Date: 2014-12-13 Impact factor: 8.082