NACCHO has recently updated its Health in All Policies (HiAP) policy statement providing guidance and recommendations for Health in All Policies at local health departments. HiAP is a strategy to assist leaders and policymakers in integrating considerations of health, well-being, and equity during the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies and services.

HiAP is defined as a change in the systems that determine how policy decisions are made and implemented by local, state, and federal government agencies to ensure that policy decisions have beneficial or neutral impacts on the determinants of health. HiAP implementation at local health departments is crosscutting between environmental and community health requiring internal and external collaboration.

NACCHO’s policy statement recommends that local health departments take a leadership role implementing HiAP at the local level to identify the best strategies for implementing HiAP in each LHD jurisdiction. NACCHO also recommends local health departments participate in or lead health impact assessments (HIAs) as a way to influence non-health sector decisions that have health impacts. HIA can be used as a tool to implement a HiAP approach and to educate policy makers.

NACCHO positions are determined and approved by the Board of Directors, and developed through member participation in advisory groups. The policy statement development process guides NACCHO’s public health advocacy work. Visit NACCHO’s website for more information about policy and position statements.