News

Philadelphia Lead Court Effectively Reduces Lead Hazards

Thursday, May 16, 2013

With almost 92 percent of all housing units built before the 1978 federal ban on lead in residential paint and 27 percent of families in the city living in poverty, Philadelphia ranks among the top U.S. cities for prevalence of children with elevated blood lead levels. Some owner-occupants and landlords may defer routine maintenance and care in lower-income housing, leading to property deterioration and peeling paint.

New PHLR Call for Proposals Opening Early June

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will be releasing its fifth call for proposals (CFP) in early June 2013.

Unlike CFPs in the past, this will be a single-round proposal call. Applicants are expected to submit a detailed proposal of no more than 23 pages.

Additionally, only short-term studies will be funded, with up to $1 million available in this round. Studies up to 18 months long will be funded at up to $150,000 each.

Six Studies Released in Journal of Health Politics, Policy & Law

Friday, May 3, 2013

Results from six studies investigating various public health laws were published online today in a special issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. The studies cover the topics of HPV vaccination policies, lead poisoning prevention laws and specialty courts, state contraceptive mandates, the impact of zoning on walkability, and drug patent laws in India.

Foot Patrol Can Be Used to Curb Violence and Improve Public Health

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Recent studies investigating the impact of street-level police (foot patrol) suggest that placing officers in crime hotspots can, at least temporarily, reduce violence in that area. These studies also support the notion that police officers on foot patrol gain significant local knowledge of their “beats” which can prove valuable for performing their duties.

PHLR Funds Four Dissertation Studies

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Projects investigating the impacts of law on traffic accidents, and the health and wellness of HIV-positive patients, people with mental illness, and children will be supported through dissertation grants provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program as part of its new Strategic and Targeted Research Program (STRP).

Flu Vaccination Mandates in Hospitals Lead to Increased Vaccination Rates for Health Care Workers

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Hospitals with flu vaccination mandates for health care workers that include consequences for noncompliance saw greater increases in vaccination rates than hospitals that had mandates without consequences or no mandates at all, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Infection Control.

In fact, the change in the vaccination rates in hospitals with mandates that included consequences was almost double the rate for hospitals that had mandates without consequences.

PHLR Program Funds Five New Studies

Thursday, February 21, 2013

The public health effects of laws on drugged driving, bullying, intimate partner violence, HIV decriminalization, and shared laboratory services will be investigated through five new research projects funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Public Health Law Research (PHLR) program as part of its new Strategic and Targeted Research Program (STRP).

The grants announced today total $586,000 and will support studies representing high priority topics identified through a six-month long open call for ideas. (See description for each of the final studies below.)

Domestic Violence Sanctions in North Carolina Shown Ineffective at Preventing Recidivism

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Current sanction levels for domestic violence offenses in North Carolina do not reduce repeat offenses, according to a study published in the February 2013 edition of the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty.

The study, conducted by Frank Sloan, PhD, and his team of researchers at Duke University, examines how domestic violence cases are resolved in North Carolina, and how current ways of resolving these cases impact repeat offenses. The study finds that a repeat offense is the case for many domestic violence charges in North Carolina.

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