Key Public Health Initiatives: A Year in Review

Among the most pressing public health issues of 2018, access to healthcare, electronic nicotine delivery systems, injury prevention, and food insecurity saw significant legislation and policy impacts. In this webinar, subject matter experts will recap how four important public health initiatives fared in 2018:

Improved Access to Health Care through Expansion of Scope of Practice

During the 2018 legislative session, state legislators introduced more than 80 bills relating to scope of practice for nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dental hygienists, dental therapists, community health workers, community paramedics, pharmacists, and peer support specialists.

Regulation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

In response to a 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey that showed a 78 percent increase in current e-cigarette use among high school students and a 48 percent increase among middle school students, the FDA announced that it will make changes to its tobacco compliance policy that will put restrictions on the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems.

Traumatic Brain Injury Prevention

Between 2009 and 2014, all 50 states and the District of Columbia passed laws to address traumatic brain injury in youth sports. Many states have made substantive changes to their so-called return-to-play legislation, expanding the laws’ scope or adding provisions aimed at primary prevention or ensuring that students with TBI have appropriate adjustments to help them return to school. These are positive advances in protecting young athletes, but the laws as written may not address the whole problem. 

Food Insecurity and SNAP: The Impact of the 2018 Farm Bill

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program for low-income Americans. The program has the ability to significantly impact food insecurity and the public’s health in a meaningful way. However, the debate around this year’s proposed Farm Bill called for massive cuts to SNAP which could have negatively impacted more than a million Americans.

Moderator:

• Kathi Hoke, J.D., Director, Network for Public Health Law-Eastern Region Office and Professor and Director, Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy, University of Maryland Carey School of Law

Presenters:

• Mellissa Sager, J.D., Senior Staff Attorney, Network for Public Health Law Eastern Region Office
• Brooke Torton, J.D., Deputy Director, Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy
• Kerri Lowrey, J.D., M.P.H., Deputy Director and Director for Grants & Research, Network for Public Health Law Eastern Region Office
• Mathew Swinburne J.D., Associate Director, Network for Public Health Law Eastern Region Office

You may qualify for CLE credit. ASLME is an approved provider of continuing legal education credits in several states ASLME will also apply for CLE credits in other states upon request. An email from ASLME regarding CLE credits will be sent to attendees following the webinar.