Michele Polacsek co-leads health impact assessment training

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., MHS, associate professor in the Graduate Programs in Public Health, co-led a training on February 5, 2013, on how to conduct a health impact assessment (HIA) with a focus on obesity prevention.  The training was sponsored by UNE’s Center for Community and Public Health, New England Alliance for Public Health Workforce Development, the Maine Prevention Research Center and the Maine Public Health Association.

HIAs are used by policymakers to assess a particular policy or program by evaluating its possible impact, by estimating its effects, and by assessing its potential health impact.  In addition, HIAs increase partnerships and communication, and improve the quality of public policy decision-making.

The 25 participants included individuals from state and local public health agencies, county government, community organizations, health systems, and Healthy Maine Partnerships.

The training is the first step in the development of an HIA that will be led by Polacsek.



 

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.