Strategic environmental assessment—exploring connections between environmental and health issues

In this paper, how changes to environmental aspects considered in strategic environmental assessment (SEA) can affect human health is explored, based on a comprehensive and systematic literature review. Whilst health is a key aspect for consideration in SEA, how it should be approached has remained subject to discussion. There is agreement, though, that at a minimum, health impacts from bio-physical environmental changes need be assessed. What this means is elaborated on in this paper. Challenges to and opportunities for an effective consideration of health in SEA are briefly outlined.