As part of its research activities, Center personnel
have conducted “State-of-the-art Assessments“
in public health law and policy. These assessments are comprehensive
research reports that examine the intersection of legal, social, and
public health issues on selected public health law topics. Assessments
may include:
Surveys of federal or state
laws, with charts or memoranda that describe the laws and provide
necessary analysis;
Discussions of the effects
of the law based on general social science theory on the operation
of law, and a review of the social science and epidemiological literature
relevant to the specific topic;
Analyses of the social and
political factors influencing the feasibility of the legal intervention,
based on opinion polling data and news media;
An agenda for needed research;
and
Recommendations for improving
the health law infrastructure (e.g., model legislation) or the effectiveness
of law in achieving public health goals.
Assessment topics are chosen each year by the Center with
the advice of the Center’s Affiliated Experts, CDC, and other
partners. They include:
Advancing HIV Prevention Initiative – A Limited Legal Analysis of State HIV Statutes (2004) by James G. Hodge, Jr.
School
Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, and Legal Perspectives
(2002) by James G. Hodge, Jr. and Lawrence O. Gostin
Evaluating the Impact of Criminal
Laws on HIV Risk Behaviors (2001) by Zita Lazzarini,
Sarah Bray, and Scott Burris
West
Nile Virus in the United States (2001) by James G. Hodge,
Jr.
Syringe
Access Law in the United States (2002) by Scott Burris,
Steffanie A. Strathdee, and Jon S. Vernick, with accompanying tables.
In addition to dissemination through the Center website
and/or in the form of a report, the results of assessments may
be published through articles in legal, medical, and public health
journals.