A Review of Model Public Health Laws

Abstract

Model public health laws (public health laws or private policies publicly recommended by at least 1 organization for adoption by government bodies or by specified private entities) are promoted as exemplary. We assessed the information sponsors of model public health laws provide on the methods used in developing their models and on their models' adoption and effectiveness. Through a systematic search, we identified 107 model public health laws published from 1907 to 2004. As of our assessment in 2005, only 18 (44%) of the sponsors presented any information on the procedures and evidence used in developing their model public health laws; information on adoption was provided for only 7 (6.5%) model laws. No sponsors provided information on model effectiveness. We recommend sponsors improve their disclosure of information about the methods and evidence used in developing model public health laws and about their adoption and effectiveness.

Comparison of Research Framing Preferences and Information Use of State Legislators and Advocates Involved in Cancer Control, United States, 2012–2013

“…Nonetheless, public health policy making often is not informed by available evidence (3,4). Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework of how policy change happens defines the policy stream as the space where solutions compete for acceptance during decision making around an agreed-upon problem (5), such as cancer control.…”

Examination of Trends and Evidence-Based Elements in State Physical Education Legislation: A Content Analysis

“…Systematic reviews such as the Guide to Community Preventive Services allow researchers and policy makers to identify evidence‐based policy 4 . Yet in a systematic review of 107 “model” public health laws (ie, public health or private policy publicly recommended by at least 1 organization for adoption by government bodies or by specified private entities), Hartsfield and colleagues found no model laws focusing on promotion of physical education 10 …”

The Contribution of Nursing to High-Value Inpatient Care

“…In their review of more than 100 model public health laws (i.e., a public health law or private policy that is publicly recommended by at least one organization for adoption by government bodies or by specified private entities) from 1907 to 2004, for example, Hartsfield, Moulton, and McKie (2007) found that sponsors provided information on these model laws' scientific basis and adoption in less than 10% of cases and no sponsor provided information on model effectiveness. A qualitative study by Elliott and Popay published in 2000 confirms this point.…”