Conclusion:
Using the critical opportunities method will help policy-makers evaluate the costs and effectiveness of legal intervention and provide evidence for its long-term value, which in turn can help them overcome ideological opposition to an expanded role of law in public health, and promote evidence-based lawmaking. The authors recommend a national conversation about opportunities for public health law to advance evidence-based policy-making.
About the Study:
The authors identify examples of critical opportunities for public health lawmaking, and use these examples to illustrate the variety of the public health issues amenable to legal intervention and the legal methods usable to address them.