Public Health Program Challenges in Municipalities
For public health challenges to be amicably solved, the entire community, political, legal, and government processes have to be synergized. This collaborative effort is quintessential in improving public health. A one man show would be detrimental because we have to appreciate that policies that help in running public health system require the input of the local community, the political class, and public health administrators (Gostin, 2001). The devolved nature of the public health law has seen limited scope the state and the federal government has had on the operation of public health. To that effect, local entities like boards of health, city councils, and county council have had a lot of say on how public health issues are managed within their areas of jurisdiction. Most of the available literature on public health law largely captures matters pertaining to firearms, housing, or smoking regulations. There are more than 18,000 local authorities within the United States which are mandated by law to address public health concerns (Gostin, 2001). Due to the uniqueness of each of these local authorities, they normally legislate laws that address pressing health concerns within their respective localities. Public health concerns like the handling of food are common across many local governments but are handled differently depending on whether it is an urban or a rural setting, population size, local governance, to mention but a few factors. Other public health issues like physical activity, outside burning, and smoking are uniquely addressed at the local level different from federal or state approaches (Gostin, 2001). Local authorities exercise powers bestowed upon them by the state in addressing public health issues. Forty-eight states have constitutional or statutory home-rule law that allows them to address specific local public health concerns (Diller, 2007). In cases where there is a gap in federal or state public health laws, local ordinances can be instituted to address critical public health issues (Barron, 2003). This has been witnessed in ordinances that regulate use of tobacco and control of firearms. In other jurisdictions, state laws preempt local ordinances. Local government must therefore, in such instances, carry out state health regulations while adapting them to address local needs and priorities (Gostin, 2001).
Findings and implications for Local Public Health Policy
This research seeks to establish the functions of municipal government on public health programs and the impact of public health programs on local services. It also...
References List
Barron, D.J. (2003). Reclaiming Home Rule. Harvard Law Review, 116, 2255-2386.
Diller, P. (2007). Intrastate Preemption. Boston University Law Review,87, 1113-1176.
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Moskowitz, J.M., Lin, Z., & Hudes, E.S. (2000). The Effect of Working Place Smoking Ordinance in California on Smoking Cessation. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 757-761.
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