Public health law education: Critical competencies and communication in the field

There is a growing appreciation of the powerful synergy that can exist between public health and the law. Unfortunately, there does not exist, as yet, a set of practical recommendations to guide policy makers who seek to harness and apply these collective forces. In many jurisdictions, the legal resources devoted to public health are quite limited. Lawyers have little understanding of public health. Policy makers have limited knowledge of the law. Consequently, legal expertise is not readily available to support new public health initiatives. The lack of effective and sustained collaboration between the two disciplines adversely affects the ability of both professions to address public health concerns. This presentation will describe recent efforts which draw upon expertise at the national, state and local levels of public health service to critically analyze how public health legal competencies are developed and disseminated. It will also suggest innovative means through which these processes may be improved upon, allowing for increased collaboration and coordination of public health efforts, and more effective development of public health improvement strategies.