Introduction of a New and Multilateral Approach in Rapid Health Impact Assessment of Development Projects: A Case Study of Saman Sport-Tourism Project

Background and Health Impact Assessment (HIA) evaluates positive and negative consequences of development on human health, which is recently proposed in Iran. Human health involves a wide range of factors, therefore, predicting and estimation of their effects require convenient and efficient tools.
In this case study, data was collected and a database on regional health status was created. The research was then carried out in three main stages, including 1- assessment of the epidemiology of important diseases and health risks, 2- health impact assessment of the project via micro-activities, 3-assessment of impacts on three health components, including physical health, metaphysical health, and socio-economic and cultural factors. After assessing negative and positive effects, scoring was performed based on a multidisciplinary panel of experts.
According to the final scores calculated, most concerns were associated with diarrheal diseases, intestinal parasites, conjunctiva, and leishmaniasis. On the other hand, preventing and reducing the likelihood of illness due to lack of awareness and the challenge of new people in the region call for extensive cultural and social planning.
Quantitative, accurate, rapid, and reliable results of multilateral approach matrix, were able to predict positive and negative effects, thereby leading to an integrated management solutions to mitigate the negative impacts and improving the quality of the project. Implementation of the project proposed was found to be non-problematic while carrying out corrective actions and authorized health monitoring program.