Phyllis Jeden

The Network for Public Health Law has developed several resources over the years to help aid those working to improve the social determinants of health (SDOH) and create more equitable health outcomes. This collection provides a non-exhaustive overview of many of these resources and categorizes them by SDOH area to allow community-based organizations and public health practitioners more streamlined access.

The private sector community benefits movement has the potential to have a positive and significant impact on social determinants of health. Public health practitioners and others working to improve the health of their communities should be familiar with this movement and consider opportunities to support these efforts towards the common goal of advancing health equity.

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are agreements between companies implementing development projects and community coalitions who aim to procure benefits for their communities, like local hiring requirements and affordable housing. Join us to learn about this growing movement, how it connects to public health, and how it has already helped to advance the social determinants of health.

There is clear evidence of racism’s broad impact on health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A growing body of research from leading organizations demonstrates that racism itself—above and beyond other social determinants of health—negatively impacts health outcomes.” Yet, at the same time that jurisdictions across the nation have taken steps to progress health equity and recognize that racism is a public health crisis, there has also been an alarming trend of states actively restricting education on these crucial topics.

Join us for a webinar introducing the Network’s  Racial Equity Dataset. This searchable database includes bills proposed and enacted in the 2021 and 2022 legislative cycles in the wake of the renewed racial justice movement in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic.   Features of the laws that were enacted, and that were still in effect on December 31, 2022, were compiled into a cohesive dataset, created using policy surveillance methods, to provide insight into the outcomes of those legislative sessions. Legislation identified, though not exhaustive, provides a bird’s eye view and a peek into relevant legal trends across the country.

In the wake of the renewed racial justice movement in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions across the country enacted laws to address health disparities and advance racial equity, while others enacted laws that may impede these goals. This searchable dataset features the laws that were enacted, and that were still in effect on December 31, 2022.

Recent litigation under the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause has challenged school vaccination requirements that do not allow for a religious exemption. The rulings in these cases have important implications for public health.

Many state and local governments have established offices of equity or similar entities to prioritize equity in government policies and procedures, and to lead and support equity work within the communities they serve. The first edition of this resource provided detailed examples of cities or counties across 12 states that established such offices. This 2024 Edition provides a non-exhaustive list of states, cities and counties across the country that have established such offices and includes some information on the offices found.

Law and policy play a critical role in shaping health outcomes especially when it comes to racial health equity. While legislative actions and trends matter, it is also important to understand the role of the courts in altering legal landscapes in ways that can positively or negatively impact racial health disparities. This fact sheet highlights four 2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases with examples of how each potentially impacts racial health equity. It also provides a further examination of two cases of the cases that can be classified as wins for racial health equity.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, states now have more legislative power to restrict or expand access to abortion services. One strategy that states are using to pass laws regarding abortion access is to place the issue of abortion on a ballot for voters to decide. These reproductive care access ballot measures are an important litmus test for the inclination of American voters.

By May of 2020, the realities of the inequitable toll of COVID-19 on communities of color became starkly evident, and the murder of George Floyd sparked a renewed movement for racial justice in the United States. During this time, the Network began earnestly exploring how best to respond and be of assistance in a rapidly changing environment. An internal Health Equity Work Group (HEWG) was established to create a space for connection and learning, and to identify ways to collaborate across regions to be responsive to what we were observing and experiencing. One of the early actions identified by the HEWG was to “evaluate what services and supports Network users are interested in” via tools like an environmental scan, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. This report explores the process that was undertaken to answer that question and the key findings and themes relevant to health and racial equity work across a variety of public health practitioners and organizations.

by Overview August 17, 2023 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. ETLegal and policy decisions shape the way people experience everyday life and can…