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<br />Introduction. & purlJose <br /> <br />This docl,Iment Is a product of collaboration between the City of Ramsey, The University of Minnesota's <br />Design for Health project and Blue Cross and Slue Shield of Minnesota. acss has Identified the Design for <br />Health project as a service provider to Implement some of the broader goals of their program, Prevention <br />Minnesota. Prevention Mlnnesotijl is aluEl Cross' long-term, statewide initiative to Improve the health of <br />Minnesotans by investing in prevention with a focus on the following goals; to significantly decrease the <br />prevalence of tobacco use, to significantly decrease the prevalence of risk factors for heart disease, and to <br />significantly decrease the prevalence of risk factors for cancer and Increase early detection of cancer. <br /> <br />The City of Ramsey applied for and received a grant from BCBS to undertake a Health Impact Assessment <br />with guidance from the Design for Health project. Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Identifies and evaluates <br />the effects of policies, plans, programs, and designs on health. From awareness-raising rapid assessment <br />methods to more data-intensive approaches, HIA comes In a variety of forms. The City of Ramsey chose to <br />use the Threshold Analysis method developed by Design for Health, which uses a' point-based scoring <br />system to assess achievement iilcross a wide variety of planning-related topics. The box below describes <br />how the Threshold Analysis approach works and how it relates to the research. Thls5ummary Is tllken <br />frClm the Design for Heiillth Threshold Analysis Workbook. <br /> <br />HOW THE HIA WORKS <br /> <br />The HIA focuses on a set of topics where there is evidence far links between human health and the.built <br />environment. Each health topic Includes one or more thresholds ar associations to be addressed in order <br />for the comprehensive plan or policy to receive points. Plans or projects with more positive impacts on <br />health,. receive more points. For the purposes of this HIA, thresholds and assoCiations are drawn from <br />previous research examining the link between human health and the built environment are defined as <br />follows: ' <br /> <br />. Thresholds are based on research evidence that provides numerical targets for healthy development. <br />They are derived from a careful reading of existing literature, taking into account where several <br />research studIes agree on a particular phenomenon. There Is great agreement,. for example, that air <br />qUQliry within a few hundred meters of major roads can be a health prOblem, particularly for <br />vl.llnf'frable grOlJps, such as children. Please refer to the key questions sheets for each topical area. <br /> <br />· Associations are conditions that should ee accounted for and, through Q ~ careful reading of exl$tlng <br />research literature, .have been shown to have positive t:Jr negCltlve health effects. While there may be <br />agreement on the nature and direction of the Indicated ossoclatlons, the particulClf phenomena may <br />not lend Itself well. to the numerical precision suggested in the thresholds. For example; a number of <br />studies have found that views of even small amounts of vegetation. can Improve mental health; the <br />numerical precision of how much green space, however, remains unclear. <br /> <br />-97- <br />