Public health law
Encyclopedia
Law is an important public health
tool that plays a critical role in reducing illness and premature death. Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health
of the general population within societal limits and norms.
Public health law focuses on legal issues in public health practice and on the public health effects of legal practice. Public health law typically has three major areas of practice: police power
, disease and injury prevention, and the law of populations.
and the Model State Public Health Act.
and injury
. Practitioners apply legislation
, regulation
, litigation (private enforcement), and international law
to public health problems using the law as an instrument of public health. Litigation against tobacco companies in the United States provides an excellent example.
that seeks to analyze legal problems using the tools of epidemiology
. Population-based legal analysis can be applied to traditional public health problems but also has application in environmental law
, zoning
, evidence
, and complex tort.
in the US was founded to promote effective regulatory, legal and policy solutions to improve public health. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
. Lawyers have long proclaimed the maxim that “the health of the people is the supreme law,”(Salus populi suprema lex esto) but in practice, making law work for public health is a constant challenge. PHLR provides the evidentiary foundation for these efforts. Through policymaking studies, PHLR identifies forces that shape public health policy and strategies for effecting policy change. Through mapping studies, it illuminates what has been done, and thus, what kind of action it is possible for various government units to take. Through implementation
studies, it provides information about how best to ensure that “law on the books” becomes effective “law on the streets”. Through intervention studies, it determines which legal approaches are most efficacious in improving health environments, behaviors, and outcomes, and identify harmful legal side effects. Finally, through mechanism studies, it tells us why laws have the effects they do, and what mechanisms are at our disposal for improving the effectiveness of legal interventions.
, health care reform
, and tobacco control
. In addition to delivering technical assistance, the Network builds relationships and provides training within the public health community.
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
tool that plays a critical role in reducing illness and premature death. Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health
Health
Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
of the general population within societal limits and norms.
Public health law focuses on legal issues in public health practice and on the public health effects of legal practice. Public health law typically has three major areas of practice: police power
Police power
In United States constitutional law, police power is the capacity of the states to regulate behavior and enforce order within their territory for the betterment of the general welfare, morals, health, and safety of their inhabitants...
, disease and injury prevention, and the law of populations.
Police power
These areas perpetuate are employed by governmental agencies. Bioterrorism is a growing focus of this practice area in some jurisdictions; for example, public health lawyers in the United States have worked in the creation of the Model State Emergency Health Powers ActModel State Emergency Health Powers Act
The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act is a proposal by the Center for Law and the Public's Health, a joint venture of Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University, to aid America's state legislatures in revising their public health laws to, as proponents put it, more effectively...
and the Model State Public Health Act.
Disease and injury prevention
This broader area of public health law applies legal tools to public health problems associated with diseaseDisease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
and injury
Injury
-By cause:*Traumatic injury, a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident*Other injuries from external physical causes, such as radiation injury, burn injury or frostbite*Injury from infection...
. Practitioners apply legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
, regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
, litigation (private enforcement), and international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
to public health problems using the law as an instrument of public health. Litigation against tobacco companies in the United States provides an excellent example.
Law of populations
Population-based legal analysis is the theoretical foundation of public health law. The law of populations is a relatively new theoretical framework in jurisprudenceJurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
that seeks to analyze legal problems using the tools of epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
. Population-based legal analysis can be applied to traditional public health problems but also has application in environmental law
Environmental law
Environmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
, zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
, evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
, and complex tort.
Public Health Law Research
In 2010, a Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program at Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
in the US was founded to promote effective regulatory, legal and policy solutions to improve public health. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the United States' largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care; it is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation's mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans...
. Lawyers have long proclaimed the maxim that “the health of the people is the supreme law,”(Salus populi suprema lex esto) but in practice, making law work for public health is a constant challenge. PHLR provides the evidentiary foundation for these efforts. Through policymaking studies, PHLR identifies forces that shape public health policy and strategies for effecting policy change. Through mapping studies, it illuminates what has been done, and thus, what kind of action it is possible for various government units to take. Through implementation
Implementation
Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.-Computer Science:...
studies, it provides information about how best to ensure that “law on the books” becomes effective “law on the streets”. Through intervention studies, it determines which legal approaches are most efficacious in improving health environments, behaviors, and outcomes, and identify harmful legal side effects. Finally, through mechanism studies, it tells us why laws have the effects they do, and what mechanisms are at our disposal for improving the effectiveness of legal interventions.
The Network for Public Health Law
The Network for Public Health Law is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide free legal technical assistance in the field of public health law. The five regional centers of the Network serve all 50 states in the U.S. as well as its territories, and their primary audiences include local, tribal, state and federal officials; lawyers; policy-makers; and public health advocates, though anyone may ask for their assistance. Some of the topics on which they provide assistance include food safetyFood safety
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards....
, health care reform
Health care reform
Health care reform is a general rubric used for discussing major health policy creation or changes—for the most part, governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place...
, and tobacco control
Tobacco Control
Tobacco control is a field of public health science, policy and practice dedicated to controlling the growth of tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes...
. In addition to delivering technical assistance, the Network builds relationships and provides training within the public health community.
Academic resources
- Lawrence O. Gostin, Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (2nd ed. 2008). ISBN: 9780520253766, UC Press
- Lawrence O. Gostin, Public Health Law and Ethics (2nd ed. 2010). ISBN: 9780520261921, UC Press
- European Journal of Health Law, ISSN: 1571-8093 (electronic) 0929-0273 (Paper), Springer
- Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, ISSN: 1527-1927 (electronic) 0361-6878 (paper), Duke University Press
- Public Health Law Research*
- The Network for Public Health Law*
See also
- Health lawHealth lawHealth Law is the federal, state, and local law, rules, regulations and other jurisprudence affecting the health care industry and their application to health care patients, providers and payors, and vendors to the health care industry, including without limitation the relationships among...
- Public Health Act 1875Public Health Act 1875The Public Health Act 1875 was established in the United Kingdom to combat filthy urban living conditions, which caused various public health threats, including the spread of many diseases such as cholera and typhus. Reformers wanted to resolve sanitary problems, because sewage was flowing down the...
- Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations
External links
- ISPUB - The Internet Journal of Law, Healthcare and Ethics
- Network for Public Health Law - education and legal technical assistance in public health law