Knowledge Synthesis Product

Resources for Policy Surveillance

This report was prepared for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Law Program to summarize the research and results undertaken in the first year of a project intended to advance the understanding and practice of legal epidemiology at CDC and state, local and tribal health agencies, with special focus on policy surveillance.

Comparing State and Federal Health Law “Recommendations”

This report explores the relationship between major health law recommendations from the federal government and the actual output of state legislative policy-makers. Providing evidence-informed policy recommendations to state, local and tribal policy-makers is part of the job description of federal health agencies. The Department of Health and Human Services publishes a compendium of recommendations, Healthy People 2020, the latest in a decennial series that began in 1980.

Tobacco Use and Secondhand Smoke Exposure: Smoke-Free Policies

The Problem: Tobacco use is a source of chronic and fatal illnesses for users and people exposed to tobacco smoke. Second-hand smoke exposure contributes to 41,000 deaths among non-smoking adults, and 400 infants annually. Second-hand exposure can lead to stroke, lung cancer and coronary heart disease. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are at increased risk for slowed lung growth, asthma, acute respiratory infections, middle ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

The Effect of Occupational Safety Law Enforcement on Preventing Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

Workplace injuries remain a significant public health problem. In the U.S. there were 4,383 fatal workplace injuries in 2012, and an estimated 3.8 million nonfatal injuries. Approximately 49,000 deaths each year are attributed to workplace-related illnesses. A 2011 economic analysis found that workplace injuries and illnesses cost the United States $192 billion annually.  

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