The 'people assessing their health' (PATH) Project: tools for community health impact assessment

The People Assessing Their Health (PATH) Project was designed to provide a means for people in selected communities within Eastern Nova Scotia to become more involved in decision making within the province's emerging decentralized health system. Using community health impact assessment (CHIA) as a population health strategy, community members were able to identify factors that determine their health and to develop tools to help them assess the health impact of programs and policies within their communities. The participatory process used throughout the PATH Project enabled a wide range of people to generate information for designing a community health impact assessment tool (CHIAT) unique to their community. It also helped participants to broaden their understanding of the many factors determining health of their community and of the region.