Perera, U T G; Haigh, R and Amaratunga, D (2023) Incorporating public health impacts in the impact assessment process during road projects: Weaknesses and challenges. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Road construction projects have various effects on human health, with nearby communities in populated areas being particularly vulnerable. In Sri Lanka, an Impact assessment (IA) is the primary obligatory tool for incorporating information on human health during the projects. However, the attention to health impacts is limited and it is unclear about the challenges and weaknesses that might be hindering a fuller consideration of health in current practices. Therefore, this study conducted 42 semi-structured interviews in Sri Lanka to obtain the experts' opinions on the inclusion of health impact during the road projects. A thematic analysis was performed to identify the key impacts, challenges, and weaknesses during the projects. The findings revealed few major impact categories including air, noise, and vibration nuisance as well as few other impacts including communicable diseases and behavioural risks. Findings suggest that there is a need to promote more comprehensive inclusion of health in IAs during road projects in developing countries.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | road projects; impact assessments; health; nearby community |
| Index terms: | thematic analysis, vibration, human health, road project, impact assessment, developing country, public health, nuisance, Sri Lanka, road construction, interview |
| Subjects: | methods and analysis, regulatory law, value management, public and environmental health, environmental health, civil engineering, data collection methods, Geography, development economics, infrastructure engineering, mechanical systems |
| Topics: | International Construction, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Project Management, Legal Issues, Health and Safety, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here