Oral

There is increasing recognition that legal research is a critical tool in advancing public health policy. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program is committed to growing the evidence base for public health policy through rigorous research focused on relationships between law and health, for which there is a current need. Policy tools are particularly critical in solving environmental and occupational public health problems. This panel will present five examples of public health law research supported by the RWJ PHLR program. These presentations address different levels of policy making from local to federal. All five focus on developing frameworks for informing, evaluating, and improving environmental health through policy, including assessment of the EPA Lead and Copper Rule, local lead laws, a local court hearing cases on lead housing violations, uptake of environmentally safer alternative chemicals, and prioritization of inspections for occupational health and safety. Presentations will focus on the common features of the public health law research program, including: development of rigorous methodologies, policy orientation, and strategic communication/translation. Each presentation reports on the work of multidisciplinary legal/public health research teams; presenters will explicitly address the benefits and challenges of these partnerships. The panel discussion will include lessons learned to identify promising strategies, approaches, methods and partnerships for improving environmental and occupational health policies through legal research. This panel is related to several of the environment section’s stated specific areas of interest, including “Chemicals and Public Health”, “Science to Support Decision-Making and Policies”, and “Children’s Environmental Health”.

Session Objectives: 1. List three examples of how public health law research has the potential to improve environmental health policy. 2. Compare how public health law interventions can be conducted on the local, state and federal level.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)