The first in a series spotlighting UEP students' summer projects and internships
Rising UEP seco
nd-year and public health planner at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Kate Ito is in Oakland, California this summer, interning with Human Impact Partners. Human Impact Partners conducts research, advocacy and capacity building to help organizations and government agencies understand the effects of their projects and policies on community health. They are one of the few organizations in the U.S. conducting health-based analyses and health impact assessments (HIA) with an explicit focus on uncovering and then addressing the policies and practices that make communities less healthy and create health inequities. HIAs utilize public health data and predictions about newly minted policies to measure its impacts, and Human Impact Partners makes recommendations on ways to mitigate negative effects as well as strengthening positive impacts.
Kate’s research at Human Impact Partners includes a health lens analysis of displacement concerns in Santa Fe, NM and a health impact assessment of a proposed bill in the Minnesota State Legislature that would regulate payday lending. Building on her experience in public health in Greater Boston, there is no doubt that Kate’s work will have important implications for policy and public health in the rest of the nation. Reports outlining the results of previous HIAs can be found here.