Citation:

Iroz-Elardo, N., J. Schoner, E. Fox, A. Brookes, AND L. Frank. Active travel and social justice: Addressing disparities and promoting health equity through a novel approach to Regional Transportation Planning. SOCIAL SCIENCE MEDICINE. Pergamon Press Ltd., New York, NY, 261:113211, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113211

Impact/Purpose:

The National Public Health Assessment Module (NPHAM) is a tool that predicts health outcomes in urban areas from a number of characteristics of the area. It is most useful for comparing health outcomes in a set of scenarios that propose changes to the built environment within an urban area. The tool includes plugins for a number of open scenario planning tools that allow urban planners to use the module to consider health outcomes in developing plans. This paper describes a case study in San Joaquin County California. The case study shows the value of the module and how it can be used to improve the health of residents within a community while planning for the future.

Description:

Public health impacts of transportation policies and infrastructure investment are becoming better understood, particularly for those associated with physical activity. Yet health impacts are not routinely evaluated within the context of the development of Regional Transportation Plans (RTP) and subsequent programming and investment processes. This is particularly concerning because the spatial distribution of planned transportation infrastructure has potentially large health equity implications for vulnerable populations far more at risk of chronic disease onset. This paper discusses the application of the National Public Health Assessment Model (NPHAM) – a new tool that extends several popular scenario planning tools to include health – for the San Joaquin Council of Governments 2018 RTP. This article demonstrates how including health equity analysis helps planners understand where infrastructure is most needed from a health equity point of view. It also helps assess the extent to which RTP strategies are likely to benefit or harm health. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first example of a quantified, health equity analysis of transport physical activity and a health outcome – body mass index (BMI) - associated with an RTP. This application of NPHAM constitutes the basis for a significant advancement in planning practice.

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