To understand and apply legal epidemiology to state and territorial public health issues.
To discuss the utility of legal epidemiology activities in state and territorial public health practice.
Brief Summary: Legal epidemiology—the study of law as a factor in the cause, distribution, and prevention of disease and injury—is a newly established field in public health law research. Although legal principles established in legislatures and courts can have discrete effects on personal and population health, scientific research standards have not been widely applied to understanding the scope and impact of public health laws. As a result, some assessments of public health laws are not carried out using scientifically-based research methods, do not have consistent protocols, and are not replicable. Research into the impact of public health laws has been a patchwork of differing studies that vary widely in quality and applicability to current health issues.
Legal epidemiology addresses issues of quality and consistency by providing standards and systematic approaches for legal research to make it valid, repeatable, and reliable in the manner of scientific research. This presentation describes the methods, application, and utility of legal epidemiology for the field of public health. Specifically, it will focus on how public health practitioners and epidemiologists around the country can contribute to identifying both positive and negative effects of laws on public health in their jurisdictions through policy surveillance and ongoing evaluation. The session will include an opportunity for epidemiologists to identify priorities in their state related to public health laws and areas where research could be improved to show the impact of these laws.