The Law Section of APHA is interested in receiving submissions that focus on current and hot topics in public health law. We welcome all outstanding abstracts that present research on the impact of law and policy, including legislation, regulation, and litigation, on public health. We also welcome abstracts that discuss legal theory with important implications for public health or the practice of law to improve population health and advance health equity.

In line with APHA’s 2026 Annual Meeting theme, “Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan”, we also invite abstracts that particularly address the ways law can contribute to strengthening community, advancing equity, and improving health at every stage of life. 

We welcome abstracts that bring a range of perspectives and approaches at local, national, or international levels as well as those that are in collaboration with practitioners and researchers with expertise in fields other than law.

• (Conference Theme) Together We Thrive: Health Across the Lifespan
  Law is a powerful tool for advancing health and health equity across the lifespan. Although legal systems have long upheld inequities that shape health from childhood through older adulthood, public health has also used law to drive meaningful change. Through legislation, litigation, policy and innovative legal approaches, law can help create conditions in which individuals and communities thrive at every stage of life. We invite abstracts that examine how law promotes equity and improves health across the lifespan and contributes to thriving communities locally, nationally, and globally.
• Addressing Factors Associated with Chronic Disease
  The average lifespan has significantly increased over the last few decades but the consequences of chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, Alzheimer’s disease and others has also increased. Law can be a powerful tool to address factors associated with these conditions such as promoting physical activity, access to health foods, access to appropriate care, and air quality. The Law Section seeks presentations on ways in which to effectively use law to decrease morbidity and inequities associated with chronic conditions.
• Behavioral and Mental Health and Substance Use
  Public health concerns related to mental illness and substance misuse and abuse require a balance between individual rights and safety along with broader issues of public safety. The Law Section invites submissions that address the ways in which laws can address mental and behavioral health disparities and issues including access to services, suicide prevention, violence prevention,  overdose prevention, adverse childhood events (ACEs), other associated behavioral health outcomes.
• Environmental Health and Justice
  The Law Section is interested in abstracts that address laws and policies that help to promote healthy environments, limit exposure to harmful substances, and reduce disparities in access to healthy environments. Potential topics may include climate change, air quality, environmentally-associated respiratory disease, and water and soil contamination. Topics related to the built environment are also invited.
• Health Care
  While the fields of public health and health care have historically been considered distinct and independent, public health and health care professionals have come to realize the benefits of collaboration to prevent and mitigate illness and injury and reduce fatalities. From identifying structural issues to implementing technological advances, a more integrated system has the potential to improve health outcomes, reduce inequities, and support patients and families as well as health care workers. The Law Section seeks abstracts that explore ways law can be used as a tool to facilitate continued and improved collaboration between the fields of public health and health care.
• Infectious Disease, Legal Preparedness and Response, Public Health Emergencies
  Law is a critical tool for preventing and controlling infectious diseases and for guiding public health emergency responses. Recent outbreaks and emergencies have exposed both strengths and gaps in legal authority to respond in these situations, with lasting impacts on health outcomes and equity. We invite abstracts that explore legal preparedness and response to infectious disease outbreaks, lessons learned from public health emergencies, and innovative legal approaches to reduce disparities in access to prevention, protection, and care. Submissions may address policy, litigation, legislation, or interdisciplinary strategies that strengthen equitable public health outcomes.
• Injury Prevention
  Laws and policies have been used as a means of public health intervention to prevent a range of injuries by discouraging or prohibiting high-risk behaviors and reducing dangerous environments. Potential topics include, but are not limited to sports-related injuries, vehicle related injuries, and burns, drowning and poisoning. Laws intended to prevent intentional injury may also be considered. (Abstracts specifically looking at criminal justice or policing are important but may be a better fit for another APHA Section. These will only be considered if examining laws.)
• International Law and Legal Developments
  The international legal landscape is rapidly changing and developing. As international law evolves, it is important that the protection of public health and human rights are protected at all levels. The Law Section invites submissions that demonstrate the impact of international legal developments, at national, regional, and global levels. We also invite submissions that bring to light consequences, challenges, and opportunities brought about by such developments in the landscape of international law.
• Jurisprudence, Legal Theory and Litigation
  The Law Section encourages submissions that explore overarching legal theories and doctrine. Submissions will be considered on important topics such as public health agency structure and authority; decision-making, responsibility, and liability; preemption; lobbying and advocacy; First Amendment; health disparities; and other cross-cutting legal issues. Submissions on important public health litigation may also be included in this category.
• Other Law-Related Abstracts
  Public health law encompasses broad topics and themes that other topics may not be otherwise captured. Examples include, but are not limited to, abstracts related to public health law teaching; interdisciplinary collaboration between public health, law and others; and building legal capacity of the public health law workforce.

Important Submission Guidelines

Anyone may submit an abstract to the Law Section. To create sessions eligible for Continuing Legal Education (self-submission), the  Law Section has a preference for abstracts on legal research, theory or practice developed by lawyers or law students or abstracts on work conducted in conjunction, consultation, or coordination with lawyers. 

Authors should check the dates of the meeting to ensure their availability if the abstract is selected. Submission is discouraged if the research will not be ready to present or if the authors are unable to attend. If an unavoidable conflict arises for either an oral or poster session and no co-author is available to present, please alert the program planners as soon as possible, so that a replacement may be selected.

• Authors must submit abstracts electronically.
• Authors should carefully review their APHA profile and update contact information, credentials/degrees, position, and organization/institution. This is critical for prioritization and for preparing materials for Continuing Legal Education.
• Authors must indicate their intended audience in the abstract (e.g., public health lawyers or others with legal expertise, public health professionals without legal expertise, etc.).
• Do not include names or identifying information in the text of the abstract.
• Do not submit an abstract about a study design or on works in progress that will not be complete by the time of the meeting. Preliminary findings are acceptable.
• Authors may indicate their preference for “oral only,” “poster only,” or “no preference” at submission. Oral sessions are limited and highly competitive.  We encourage authors to select “no preference” to maximize flexibility.
  
  

Special instructions for Session Proposals

Session Proposals are 90 minutes and typically include 4–5 speakers who address different aspects of a shared topic. All proposed abstracts are blind reviewed, and each abstract must meet the required scoring threshold for the session to be approved. If a full session is not approved, only those abstracts that meet the scoring threshold will be eligible for inclusion in other sessions covering similar topics.

One person, the session proposal submitter, must begin the session submission for all abstracts. After the session submission is created, each speaker will receive an email containing a unique link to continue with the submission of their abstract.

To submit a session, choose "start session submission". APHA has provided detailed instructions for help submitting a session.

Information for students

• We highly encourage the submission of student work! The Law Section gives an award for best student abstract. 
• In the “Note to Planner” field, students should note that they are a student, the degree they are working toward, and anticipated graduation year.
  
  

Frequently asked questions

• The Law Section gives awards for best overall abstract and best student abstract.
• The time allotment for presentations is usually 10-12 minutes.
• Authors must provide a conflict of interest disclosure and a qualification statement that specifically justifies their presentation of the material; a general statement of the author’s training or degrees earned is NOT sufficient.
• Multiple abstracts may be submitted; however, authors submitting more than one abstract to this call should indicate their order of preference for which they would like to present or "no preference" in the "Note to Planners" field.  
• All presenting authors must be members of APHA by the date of the meeting and must register for the meeting.
  
  

Continuing Legal Education

While APHA does not submit for CLE, the Law Section prepares and compiles materials for attorneys to self-submit to their home bar association for eligible Law Section sponsored panels.

To be sure that presentations are eligible for self-submission in most jurisdictions, please update your APHA profile to ensure that it clearly states the presenting author's and co-authors' credentials/degrees and current organization/institution affiliation.

Continuing Education Credit

APHA values the ability to provide continuing education credit to physicians, nurses, health educators, veterinarians, and those certified in public health at its annual meeting. Please complete all required information when submitting an abstract so members can claim credit for attending your session. These credits are necessary for members to keep their licenses and credentials.

For a session to be eligible for Continuing Education Credit, each presenter must provide:

• An abstract free of trade and/or commercial product names
• At least one MEASURABLE outcome (DO NOT USE “To understand” or “To learn” as objectives, they are not measurable). Examples of Acceptable Measurable Action Words: Explain, Demonstrate, Analyze, Formulate, Discuss, Compare, Differentiate, Describe, Name, Assess, Evaluate, Identify, Design, Define or List.
• A signed Conflict of Interest (Disclosure) form with a relevant Qualification Statement. See an example of an acceptable Qualification Statement on the online Disclosure form.
  
  

Notification

Authors will be notified of the abstract review decisions on or about June 3, 2026.

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Ready?

Program Planner Contact Information:

Leigh Haynes, JD, MPH, LLM
leighkamore.haynes@ugent.be