Public Health Law News Announcements: June 1, 2017

Public Health Law News Announcements

Feedback Needed on Competencies for the Emerging Field of Legal Epidemiology. To support public health practitioners, lawyers, and policy experts working in this emerging field, CDC’s Public Health Law Program (PHLP) is leading an effort to develop a set of competencies outlining the research and translation knowledge and skills needed to develop, implement, or oversee legal epidemiology studies. In collaboration with a multidisciplinary expert review workgroup, a Legal Epidemiology Competency Model (LECM) has been drafted and is ready for public review and comment. Feedback is needed from the broad public health community, as well as from those engaged directly in legal epidemiology work, to refine this draft. More information about legal epidemiology, the draft LECM, and providing feedback is available in the archive of a recent town hall meeting or the related PHF Pulse blog post. Feedback is being accepted through Friday, June 16, 2017 and can be shared online or by email to Janelle Nichols at jnichols@phf.org.

Webinar About Legal Epidemiology and Environmental Public Health. The National Environmental Health Association, in collaboration with PHLP, is offering a second webinar in a three-part series on legal epidemiology. The free webinar, “Legal Epidemiology, Part 2: A Tool for Evaluating the Impact of Environmental Public Health Laws,” will feature speakers from PHLP, highlight variations in state law provisions related to environmental public health issues, and describe related legal epidemiology methods. It will also offer abbreviated training in the principles of legal epidemiology, give examples of its application to environmental public health law, and allow participants to ask questions. The webinar will take place June 14, 2017, 1:00–2:30 pm (EDT).

Updated Criminal and Epidemiological Investigations Handbook. CDC has released an updated version of to the Criminal and Epidemiological Investigations Handbook. This latest version provides an overview of criminal and epidemiological investigation procedures involving interactions between law enforcement and public health. The handbook will teach public health and law enforcement how to work together to identify the biological agent, prevent the spread of the disease, avoid public panic, and apprehend those responsible. It is also available in French and Spanish.