Appraisal of health impacts as knowledge field

Abstract

The debate on what “appraisal of health impacts” is and which its limits are have remained since the beginning of performing studies practice. In consequence, many documents have been published to elucidate these questions, based on specific premises and approaches, especially for health impacts assessments (HIA). The current expansion of studies, mainly of HIA, the adjustments for different contexts, and the aggregated knowledge which vest it with the status of field of knowledge place the debate far from over, and invigorate the need of revisiting concepts and premises of health impact appraisal constructs. This need has motivated the elaboration of this study, which aims to revive the debate of this construct as a field of knowledge with vast theoretical apparatus, and to discuss, under a wide comprehension, about studies that could belong to this field, besides the HIA ones.