Open AccessThe Scientific Basis for Law as a Public Health Tool
Author(s) -
Anthony D. Moulton,
Shawna L. Mercer,
Tanja Popović,
Peter A. Briss,
Richard A. Goodman,
Melisa L. Thombley,
Robert A. Hahn,
Daniel M. Fox
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2007.130278
Subject(s) - public health , scientific evidence , foundation (evidence) , public health law , sociology of scientific knowledge , systematic review , political science , scientific literature , health policy , law , public relations , public health policy , medline , medicine , sociology , health care , social science , paleontology , philosophy , nursing , epistemology , biology
Systematic reviews are generating valuable scientific knowledge about the impact of public health laws, but this knowledge is not readily accessible to policy makers. We identified 65 systematic reviews of studies on the effectiveness of 52 public health laws: 27 of those laws were found effective, 23 had insufficient evidence to judge effectiveness, 1 was harmful, and 1 was found to be ineffective. This is a valuable, scientific foundation-that uses the highest relevant standard of evidence-for the role of law as a public health tool. Additional primary studies and systematic reviews are needed to address significant gaps in knowledge about the laws' public health impact, as are energetic, sustained initiatives to make the findings available to public policy makers.