Studying the use of law and policy in regional approaches to local public health service delivery in Colorado

The Foundation's program, Public Health Law Research: Making the Case for Laws That Improve Health, was designed to build the evidence for public health law and policy, translate research findings into practical tools to increase the support for and use of law by policy-makers and public health practitioners, and to translate findings to other fields and venues to improve and protect health.This project, with funding to the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials, will examine regional approaches to local public health service delivery in Colorado and examine challenges and barriers to the success of current approaches in the context of law. The Colorado Public Health Practice-Based Research Network will conduct: (1) a national review of state laws that directly impact regionalization and functional regional approaches in local public health; (2) a legal analysis of the Colorado Public Health Act of 2008 in terms of its impact on regionalization and regional approaches; and (3) a mapping study of regional approaches in Colorado that includes an analysis of legal instruments used to implement regional approaches and a qualitative study of the determinants of the legal or structural barriers to regional approaches. Deliverables for this project include: (1) a report on current practices, current models of regional approaches, and examples of legal instruments used; (2) a presentation and talking points for local public health directors; and (3) presentations on the basics of public health law and systems research as well as a matrix/database of regional approaches and potential models for public health practitioners.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $150,000.00

Awarded on: 11/3/2009

Time frame: 12/1/2009 - 5/31/2011

Grant Number: 67153