These dichotomisations seem to have arisen at specific times in
response to perceived limitations in HIA practice. They appear to be of
limited use in describing current HIA practice and may be less relevant
now than at past stages in the development of HIA as a field. In the
past they have been helpful in explaining why differences in practice
have arisen, but may not currently allow a full appreciation of the
forms of HIA practice and the purposes for which HIAs are being
conducted. These dichotomisations may also have led to a stricter
notional delineation than has existed in practice, for example many
HIAs incorporate both qualitative and quantitative assessment
methods, and many comprehensive HIAs include rapid or deskbased
assessments as part of their scoping step. Further, this
dichotomisation may have engendered an “us-and-them” attitude
amongst HIA practitioners, limiting the potential for learning across
different settings and even engagement with the wider field of impact
assessment, such as environmental impact assessment and social
impact assessment practitioners.