HIA - Health Impact Assessment
Faculty of HMNBS
Professor Mary Mahoney
Mary Mahoney is currently a Senior Academic Associate with the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University. Prior to this she was the coordinator of the HIA Research Unit. During this time Mary was instrumental in placing health impact assessment of policies onto the agenda both federally and at state level in Australia. The major focus of Mary’s work has been on the role of health impact assessment in policy and she is involved in ongoing research linked to the positioning of health impact assessment at a range of levels of government and in developing, refining and applying these tools.
She is currently working in Gloucestershire England in a partnership role between the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England and Gloucestershire College focusing on urban regeneration and the role of higher education in supporting change within a community with high levels of disadvantage. She plays an active role in HIA work internationally and is serving on the Scientific Committee for the 2008 International HIA conference in Liverpool. She develops and contributes to training programs and has provided sessions in the recent IMPACT training course at Liverpool University and contributes to the Brunel University, London, Doctor of Public Health program. She publishes widely and her latest HIA publication is a chapter in the new Australian health policy text by Barraclough and Gardner, Analysing Health Policy: a problem oriented approach (2008).
Jenny-Lynn Potter (Research Fellow)
Jenny-Lynn's background is in health and behavioural sciences. She has worked in varying capacities across local government, private consultancy and academia. Jenny-Lynn's work in local government has included the field of poverty and social/health outcomes, and an investigation of consumer participation and rights within the provision of primary health care services.
As part of the Deakin Health Impact Assessment unit, Jenny-Lynn has contributed to a number of research projects including the City of Darebin's proposed Family Violence Strategy, the links between HIA and the Triple Bottom Line concept and the role of HIA at the community level as a tool for promoting health and reducing inequalities in health. More recently Jenny-Lynn has been involved in research and consultancy projects that have developed HIA tools for use within Local Government.
Jenny-Lynn's main area of interest and subsequent ongoing study is focused on the identification and examination of the health outcomes of policy making. She completed a Masters Degree in Policy and Human Services in 2006. A key component of this was an investigation of the application of HIA to policy development around issues of Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA). Jenny-Lynn is currently the key contact person for the Deakin University HIA Research Unit, and the Unit Chair for the Deakin HIA/SIA Short course.
