A Novel Community Health Impact Assessment towards a Public Policy: A Case Study of Biomass Power Plants in Southern Thailand

Abstract

For the first time, this article describes the novel process based on the integrated community health impact assessment (CHIA) for renewable energy technologies that have been globally accepted, such as a biomass power plant, to reduce health inequities in Southern Thailand. The co-design foresight study and participatory action research (PAR) using multiple qualitative methodologies, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and Delphi expert panels. The study was conducted the integrated approach during May-December 2019 in a small town, Southern Thailand. Strategic foresight enabled the community to identify future scenarios of enterprises, institutions, and others in the short, medium, and long term by analyzing internal and external factors. First, the compassionate communities served as a strategy to build support for individuals, schools, workplaces, civic organizations, and local governments to tackle health challenges surrounding severe problems. Second, community readiness played a role in assessing communities' adoption of mindfulness to deal with the biomass power plant. Third, the social and ecological effects presented the livelihood and living in the Southern region as the main determinants in modern energy utilization under Thailand's policy. These factors contributed to CHIA's entire process of producing health promotion, social learning, and public policy derived by the community. The findings of this study are geared towards providing advanced practical decision-support tools for stakeholders responsible for policy and investment decisions in a community near the biomass power plant constructions.