Learning Objectives
Key Concepts of U.S. Law in Public
Health Practice
Faculty: P. Kocher,JD – OGC/CDC (biography
PDF-14KB)
- Understand key definitions and concepts framing the
relation between U.S. law and public health practice
- Describe sources of law necessary for chronic
disease prevention and control
- Recognize the Constitutional balance between the
rights of individuals and the needs of the community
with respect to public health
Privacy and Confidentiality
Faculty: G. Horlick, JD – CDC Office of
Scientific and Regulatory Services (biography
PDF-14KB)
- Understand the relationship between federal and
state privacy, confidentiality and security laws.
- Explain why protecting privacy and confidentiality
is more important than ever.
- Be able to discuss the impact of the Privacy Act on
public health.
- Be able to discuss the impact of the HIPAA Privacy
Rule on public health practice and research.
- Be able to discuss the impact of FERPA on public
health.
Law of Surveillance: The Cases of
Hemoglobin A1c Reporting and Cancer Registries
Faculty: T. Merrill, JD – NYC Dept. of
Health (biography
PDF-15KB), and J. Stettner, JD – OGC/CDC (biography
PDF-14KB)
- Understand the legal authority for information
gathering during public health surveillance and
investigation activities
- Be able to discuss the legal basis and process for,
and legal issues associated with, enacting state and
local-level requirements for reporting of potential
markers for selected chronic diseases
- Explain the legal framework linking federal, state,
and other jurisdictions’ activities in chronic disease
surveillance
Law in the Prevention / Control of
Tobacco Use and Tobacco-related Disease: Soup to Nuts
Faculty: R. Daynard, JD, PhD –
Northeastern Law, and Tobacco Control Resource Center,
Boston (biography
PDF-15KB)
- Describe international, federal, state, and local
legal authorities essential to controlling and
preventing tobacco-related diseases
- Recognize principal elements of FDA enabling
legislation
- Understand implications of litigation in relation to
tobacco-related disease prevention
- Be able to discuss selected legal issues and
controversies in the control and prevention of
tobacco-related diseases
Role of the Legal Counsel and Legal
Considerations for Working at CDC
Faculty: J. Stettner, JD – OGC/CDC (biography
PDF-14KB)
- Understand the services that the Office of General
Counsel (OGC) provides to the agency, for instance,
providing legal advice to CDC on a wide variety of
issues and interpreting statutory and regulatory
authority
- Recognize circumstances for which CDC employees
should contact OGC for guidance
- Gain familiarity with federal laws applicable to CDC
employees, for instance, laws concerning the management
of information collected by CDC as well as ethics
regulations governing employees outside activities and
potential conflicts of interest
Law in the Prevention / Control of
Obesity: The Case of Requirements for Menu Labeling
Faculty: T. Merrill, JD – NYC Dept. of
Health (biography
PDF-15KB)
- Understand the legal basis and legislative process
for transforming policy goals for improved nutritional
options into local regulations requiring restaurant
chains to provide calorie information on menus
- Identify types of legal challenges to menu labeling
requirements as an example of local public health
regulatory regimens to promote health and prevent
chronic diseases
- Be able to describe the role of the judiciary and
court process in relation to challenges to public health
regulatory actions in chronic disease control
Constitutional Considerations in
Chronic Disease Prevention and Control: the First Amendment
and Commercial Speech
Faculty: R. Bonnie, JD – Univ. Virginia
Law (biography
PDF-18KB)
- Understand the ways in which regulating expression
can be used to promote the public health and the First
Amendment principles that may limit the scope of such
interventions
- Understand the key constitutional questions raised
by proposals to ban or restrict tobacco advertising
- Recognize the constitutional questions presented by
proposals to mandate graphic warnings on cigarette
packages
Law and Health Promotion: The Case of
Increasing Physical Activity
Faculty: F. Alexander, JD – Emory Law
School (biography
PDF-15KB)
- Understand foundational principles of law of land
use and structural space control in relation to
strategies for increasing physical activity as a health
promotion and disease prevention strategy
- Describe legal structures (public and private) at
multiple levels (local, state, federal) that guide and
determine relationships between legal entities and the
land
- Identify selected specific legal approaches for land
use, including zoning, housing and building codes, and
other forms of land use regulations
- Explain selected examples (e.g., [i] bike paths and
pedestrian walkways, [ii] building codes and floor area
ratios, and [iii] parking space requirements) that
illustrate the interplay of the legal frameworks and the
concept of physical activity as it relates to public
health
