PHM-Exch> Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool - Urban HEART

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) <ruglucia at paho.org>
crossposted from: EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org


 *Urban HEART: Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool*

* *

*World Health Organization, The WHO Centre for HealthDevelopment, Kobe, 2010
*



Available online PDF [48p.] at: http://bit.ly/eJsWak



“…….The impact of the urban setting on health and, in particular, inequity
in health has been widely documented. Evidence shows that while, on average,
public services, including health and health service provision, in urban
areas may be better than in rural areas, these averages often mask wide
disparities between more and less disadvantaged populations.


One key factor is the exclusion of the marginalized and vulnerable in public
health planning and response systems (*1*). Urban health is influenced by a
dynamic interaction between global, national and subnational policies;
within that wider context, city governments and local communities can play
an instrumental role in closing the gap between the better off and the worse
off.


Regardless of the evidence, only a few countries have examined their inter-
or intra-city health inequities, and few do so regularly. Information that
shows the gaps between cities or within the same city is a crucial
requirement to trigger appropriate local actions to promote health equity.

Evidence should be comprehensive enough to provide hints on key health
determinants, and concise enough to facilitate policy-making and
prioritization of interventions.

In order to facilitate the process of proactively addressing health
inequities, WHO collaborated with 17 cities from 10 countries1 in 2008–2009
to develop and pilot-test a tool called the Urban Health Equity Assessment
and Response Tool (Urban HEART). Urban HEART guides local policymakers and
communities through a standardized procedure of gathering relevant evidence
and planning effi ciently for appropriate actions to tackle health
inequities.



This collective effort towards a common goal has galvanized both city
governments and communities to recognize and take action on health
inequities. It is envisaged that cities in varied contexts can locally adapt
and institutionalize Urban HEART, while maintaining its core concepts and
principles.

The aspiration for closing the health gap in cities can be met by guiding
public health policies through evidence and in-depth analysis of inequities,
using a participatory and intersectoral approach. Urban HEART provides an
opportunity for policymakers from different sectors, and communities, to
cooperate in using evidence to identify and prioritize interventions for
tackling health inequities……………”





PREFACE

*A. CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES *

A.1 INEQUITY IN HEALTH

A.2 THREE MAIN APPROACHES TO REDUCE

HEALTH INEQUITIES

A.3 TACKLING HEALTH INEQUITIES IN URBAN AREAS

*B. INTRODUCING URBAN HEART *

B.1 WHAT IS URBAN HEART?

B.2 WHY SHOULD YOU USE URBAN HEART?

B.3 WHAT IS URBAN HEART EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE?

B.4 CORE ELEMENTS OF URBAN HEART

*C. PLANNING URBAN HEART *

C.1 PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION CYCLE

C.2 URBAN HEART USER MANUAL

*D. ASSESSMENT *

D.1 INDICATORS

D.2 DATA PRESENTATION

*E. RESPONSE *

E.1 IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES AND RESPONSE STRATEGIES

E.2 SELECT RELEVANT INTERVENTIONS

*F. CONCLUSION *

ANNEX 1 URBAN HEART INDICATORS

ANNEX 2 REFERENCES AND USEFUL SOURCES



Teams in cities who pilot-tested the tool have been critical in the
development of Urban HEART:

• Guarulhos (Brazil)

• Jakarta, Denpasar (Indonesia)

• Tehran (Islamic Republic of Iran)

• Nakuru (Kenya)

• State of Sarawak (Malaysia)

• Mexico City (Mexico)

• Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia)

• Davao, Naga, Olongapo, Paranaque, Tacloban, Taguig, Zamboanga
(Philippines)

• Colombo (Sri Lanka)

• Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam)

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