Expert on health assessments to speak in Davidson - DavidsonNews

Posted on 29 March 2013.

Town of Davidson
Dr. Martin Birley, a pioneer of health impact assessments, will give a public talk on Friday, April 19, at noon at Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. He?ll address the topic ?Incorporating Health Impact Assessment Into Government and Corporate Activities.?

In 2011, the Town of Davidson received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct health impact assessments (HIA) in Davidson. Katherine Hebert, our Davidson Design for Life Coordinator has conducted three HIA so far, and is currently working on four additional HIA. She will analyze the Davidson Pedestrian Plan, the upcoming Parks and Recreation Master Plan, food accessibility in Davidson, and universal design in housing. Her goal is to influence the decision-making in a manner that increases our citizens? health.

?The Davidson Design for Life program is pleased to host Dr. Martin Birley to help educate citizens on how health impact assessments can be used by governments and businesses to consider the health impact of their decisions,? said Hebert. ?It?s quite an honor to have someone of his stature come to town.?

Dr. Martin Birley is an independent international consultant in Health Impact Assessment, former Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool, UK, and former Senior Health Advisor on HIA at Shell. He has been at the forefront of global health impact assessment for over 28 years. He was involved in the development of the discipline since its early days in tropical medicine, to its later emergence as an instrument both for healthy public policy in the UK and Europe, and for community safeguards by international development banks. He has personal experience of many sectors including water resource development, agriculture, oil and gas, housing and planning. He has written guidelines for health agencies, development banks and multinational corporations. He continues to work all across the globe as well as in the UK. He runs training courses for institutions worldwide. He currently heads up a London based consultancy BirleyHIA. Martin?s depth of experience places him in an ideal position to provide an introduction to the rapidly expanding field of health impact assessment, for the benefit of newcomers and experienced practitioners alike.

?Because the physical, social, and intellectual wellbeing of Davidson citizens is fundamental to our community, and since we want our citizens to live in a healthy environment, we are very pleased to be hosting Dr. Martin Birley,? said Hebert.

The talk is free. Light lunch provided. Limited 60 participants. Reserve a seat by contacting Cristina Shaul at 704-940-9602 or cshaul@townofdavidson.org.

More information about the Davidson Design for Life initiative at www.townofdavidson.org/DD4L.

Source: http://davidsonnews.net/healthandfitness/2013/03/29/expert-on-health-assessments-to-speak-in-davidson/

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