Improving public health law and practice: Assessing the field and national priorities

The effective application of law is as essential as surveillance, evaluation and communication to protecting and promoting the public's health. Public health practitioners, legal practitioners, academics, and policy-makers all play important and necessary roles in assessing, designing and implementing laws that can improve health and the function of the public health system. To do so effectively, they need evidence, information, technical assistance, training, and opportunities to exchange ideas and learn from each other. To determine whether public health law is a readily available tool for practitioners of public health and law, as well as policy-makers, we conducted an extensive scan and needs assessment of the field and relevant stakeholders. Through interviews, surveys, thought-leader discussions, commissioned papers and independent research, we have gained an understanding of the field of public health law, the resources and strengths that currently exist, as well as the gaps and needs of stakeholders in using law and policy more effectively in their work. This session will describe the findings of this work including a description of the current field, available resources for practitioners, and continued needs and gaps that were identified. Finally, we will outline the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's efforts to stimulate efforts in public health law to address these gaps in public health law research; technical assistance; building the field; and working to provide training and educational opportunities in public health law. Funding and technical assistance opportunities will also be described.