National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

FOR THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH

Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet
New Challenges

Committee on Public Health Strategies to Improve Health

Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
             OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.

www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS    500 Fifth Street, N.W.    Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This study was supported by Contract No. 65863 between the National Academy of Sciences and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-18691-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-18691-9

Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.

For more information about the Institute of Medicine, visit the IOM home page at: www.iom.edu.

Copyright 2011 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

The serpent has been a symbol of long life, healing, and knowledge among almost all cultures and religions since the beginning of recorded history. The serpent adopted as a logotype by the Institute of Medicine is a relief carving from ancient Greece, now held by the Staatliche Museen in Berlin.

Suggested citation: IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2011. For the Public’s Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
”      

                                                —Goethe

image

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
              OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advising the Nation. Improving Health.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC HEALTH
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE HEALTH

MARTHE R. GOLD (Chair), Professor and Chair, Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College, New York, NY

STEVEN M. TEUTSCH (Vice Chair), Chief Science Officer, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA

LESLIE BEITSCH, Associate Dean for Health Affairs; Director, Center on Medicine and Public Health, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee, FL

JOYCE D. K. ESSIEN, Director, Center for Public Health Practice, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University; Retired Medical Officer, Captain US Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

DAVID W. FLEMING, Director and Health Officer for Public Health, Seattle & King County, Seattle, WA

THOMAS E. GETZEN, Professor of Risk, Insurance and Health Management, Fox School of Business, Temple University; Executive Director, International Health Economics Association (iHEA) Philadelphia, PA

LAWRENCE O. GOSTIN, Linda and Timothy O’Neill Professor of Global Health Law and the Director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, Washington, DC

GEORGE J. ISHAM, Medical Director and Chief Health Officer, HealthPartners, Bloomington, MN

ROBERT M. KAPLAN, Director, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

WILFREDO LOPEZ, General Counsel Emeritus, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NY

GLEN P. MAYS, Professor and Chairman, Department of Health Policy and Management, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

PHYLLIS D. MEADOWS, Associate Dean for Practice, Office of Public Health Practice; Clinical Professor, Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

MARY MINCER HANSEN, Director of the Masters of Public Health Program; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Global Health, Des Moines University, IA

POKI STEWART NAMKUNG, Health Officer, Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, Santa Cruz, CA

MARGARET E. O’KANE, President, National Committee for Quality Assurance, Washington, DC

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

DAVID A. ROSS, Director, Public Health Informatics Institute, The Task Force for Global Health, Decatur, GA

MARTÍN JOSÉ SEPÚLVEDA, IBM Fellow and Vice President, International Business Machines Corporation, Somers, NY

STEVEN H. WOOLF, Professor, Departments of Family Medicine, Epidemiology, and Community Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Study Staff

 

ALINA B. BACIU, Study Director

AMY GELLER, Program Officer

ALEJANDRA MARTÍN, Research Assistant

ALLISON BERGER, Senior Program Assistant

ROSE MARIE MARTINEZ, Board Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

 

Susan Allan, University of Washington

Bobbie Berkowitz, Columbia University Medical Center

Denise Chrysler, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Susan J. Curry, The University of Iowa

Leah Devlin, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Kenneth W. Kizer, University of California Davis Health System

Elizabeth A. McGlynn, Kaiser Permanente Center for Effectiveness & Safety Research

David Meltzer, University of Chicago

Margaret A. Potter, University of Pittsburgh

Helen Rubenstein, William Mitchell College of Law

Derek Yach, Pepsi Co., Inc.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Mark R. Cullen, Stanford University, and Hugh Tilson, University of North Carolina. Appointed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

Preface: Introduction to the Series of Reports

In 2009, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a committee to examine three topics in relation to public health: measurement, the law, and funding. The committee’s complete three-part charge is provided in Box P-1. The IOM Committee on Public Health Strategies to Improve Health explored the topics in the context of contemporary opportunities and challenges and with the prospect of influencing the work of the health system (broadly defined as in the report summary) in the second decade of the 21st century and beyond. The committee was asked to prepare three reports—one on each topic—that contained actionable recommendations for public health agencies and other stakeholders that have roles in the health of the U.S. population. This report is the second in the series.

The committee’s three tasks and the series of reports prepared to respond to them are linked by the recognition that measurement, laws, and funding are three major drivers of change in the health system. Measurement (with the data that support it) helps specialists and the public to understand health status in different ways (for example, by determinant or underlying cause where national, local, and comparative evidence is available), to understand the performance of the various stakeholders in the system, and to understand the health-related results of investment. Measurement also helps communities to understand their current status, to determine whether they are making progress in improving health, and to set priorities for their next actions. Although the causal chains between actions of the health system and health outcomes are not always clearly elucidated, measurement is a fundamental requirement for the reasons listed above.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

BOX P-1
Charge to the Committee

Task 1 (completed)

The committee will review population health strategies, associated metrics, and interventions in the context of a reformed health care system. The committee will review the role of score cards and other measures or assessments in summarizing the impact of the public health system, and how these can be used by policy makers and the community to hold both government and other stakeholders accountable and to inform advocacy for public health policies and practices.

Task 2 (accomplished in the present report)

The committee will review how statutes and regulations prevent injury and disease, save lives, and optimize health outcomes. The committee will systematically discuss legal and regulatory authority; note past efforts to develop model public health legislation; and describe the implications of the changing social and policy context for public health laws and regulations.

Task 3 (to be addressed in a forthcoming report)

The committee will develop recommendations for funding state and local health systems that support the needs of the public after health care reform. Recommendations should be evidence based and implementable. In developing their recommendations the committee will:

  • Review current funding structures for public health,
  • Assess opportunities for use of funds to improve health outcomes,
  • Review the impact of fluctuations in funding for public health,
  • Assess innovative policies and mechanisms for funding public health services, and community-based interventions and suggest possible options for sustainable funding.

Laws transform the underpinnings of the health system and also act at various points in and on the complex environments that generate the conditions for health. Those environments include the widely varied policy context of multiple government agencies, such as education, energy, and transportation agencies, as well as many statutes, regulations, and court cases intended to reshape the factors that improve or impede health. The measures range from national tobacco policy to local smoking bans and from national agricultural subsidies and school nutrition standards to local school-board decisions about the types of foods and beverages to be sold in school vending machines.

Funding that supports the activities of public health agencies is provided primarily by federal, state, and local governments. However, government

Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

budgets must balance a variety of needs, programs, and policies, and the budgets draw on different sources (including different types of taxes and fees), depending on jurisdiction. Therefore, the funds allocated to public health depend heavily on how the executive and legislative branches set priorities. Other funding sources support public health activities in the community, including “conversion” foundations formed when nonprofit hospitals and health insurers became privatized (such as The California Wellness Foundation). Additionally, funds for population health and medical care activities may be provided by community-based organizations with substantial resources, not-for-profit clinical care providers, and stakeholders in other sectors.

The subjects addressed in the three reports are not independent of each other and, indeed, should be viewed together. For example, measurement of health outcomes and of progress in meeting objectives can provide evidence to guide the development and implementation of public health laws and the allocation of resources for public health activities. Laws and policies often require the collection of data and can circumscribe the uses to which the data are put, for example, prohibiting access to personally identifiable health information. Similarly, statutes can affect funding for public health through such mechanisms as program-specific taxes or fees. And laws shape the structure of public health agencies, grant them their authority, and influence policy.

In the three reports, the committee will make a case for increased accountability of all sectors that affect health—including the clinical care delivery system, the business sector, academe, nongovernment organizations, communities, and various government agencies—wherever possible, with coordination by the government public health agency leading or coordinating activities and sectors. The committee’s first report, released in December 2010, focused on measurement of population health and related accountability at all levels of government. The present report reflects the committee’s thinking about legal and public policy reform on three levels: first, pertaining to the public health agencies’ powers, duties, and limitations as defined in enabling statutes (i.e., that establish their structure, organization, and functioning); second, the use of legal and policy tools to improve the public’s health; and third, pertaining to other sectors of government at the national, state, and local levels, and the role of a diverse set of private and not-for-profit sector actors. The committee’s final report on funding, will consider resource needs and approaches to addressing them in a predictable and sustainable manner to ensure a robust population health system.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R12
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R13
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." Institute of Medicine. 2011. For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13093.
×
Page R14
Next: Summary »
For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $39.00 Buy Ebook | $31.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine three topics in relation to public health: measurement, the law, and funding. IOM prepared a three book series-one book on each topic-that contain actionable recommendations for public health agencies and other stakeholders that have roles in the health of the U.S population.

For the Public's Health: Revitalizing Law and Policy to Meet New Challenges is the second in the For the Public Health's Series, and reflects on legal and public policy reform on three levels: first, laws that establish the structure, duties, and authorities of public health departments; second, the use of legal and policy tools to improve the public's health; and third, the health effects of laws and policies from other sectors in and outside government.

The book recommends that states enact legislation with appropriate funding to ensure that all public health departments have the mandate and the capacity to effectively deliver the Ten Essential Public Health Services. The book also recommends that states revise their laws to require public health accreditation for state and local health departments through the Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation process. The book urges government agencies to familiarize themselves with the public health and policy interventions at their disposal that can influence behavior and more importantly change conditions-social, economic, and environmental-to improve health. Lastly, the IOM encourages government and private-sector stakeholders to consider health in a wide range of policies (a health in all policies approach) and to evaluate the health effects and costs of major legislation.

This book, as well as the other two books in the series, is intended to inform and help federal, state, and local governments, public health agencies, clinical care organizations, the private sector, and community-based organizations.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!