Report

State Laws Limiting Public Health Protections: Hazardous for Our Health

ReportAct for Public HealthPublic Health AuthorityMechanisms for Advancing Public Health

November 2, 2022
by Donna Levin and Jill Krueger

This report, produced by the Network as part of the Act for Public Health initiative, examines laws impacting public health authority that have been passed as of May 20, 2022 and provides analysis of how they significantly weaken the collective ability of public health to respond effectively in future pandemics and other emergencies, and to carry out day-to-day public health activities.

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Racism as a Public Health Crisis—Perspectives on Healthy Aging

ReportRacism as a Public Health Crisis

April 21, 2022
by Betsy Lawton and Dawn Hunter

This report uses a revised Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) framework put forward by Ruqaiijah Yearby to examine the role of law as a tool to address structural discrimination, with a focus on health impacts across the lifespan. This framework illustrates how law and the systems it interacts with can shape health and well-being and identifies structural discrimination as the root cause of disparities in health outcomes. 

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Learning from the Flint Water Crisis – Protecting the Public’s Health During a Financial Emergency

ReportEmergency Legal Preparedness and ResponseEnvironment, Climate and HealthFlint Water Crisis ProjectPublic Health Authority

February 13, 2018
by Colleen Healy Boufides, Denise Chrysler and Peter D. Jacobson

This report, co-authored by attorneys from the Network for Public Health Law and the University of Michigan School of Public Health, details why shortcomings in the structure and implementation of laws related to public health, safe drinking water, and emergency financial management failed to stop or mitigate the Flint water crisis. Along with key findings, the report provides recommendations to help prevent similar crises from happening in other communities.

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