Publication Title: 
American Journal of Public Health
Publication Date: 
Monday, July 1, 2013

This study determined whether Philadelphia Lead Court is effective in enforcing lead hazard remediation in the homes of children with elevated blood lead levels.

This study created a deidentified data set for properties with an initial failed home inspection (IFHI) for lead hazards from January 1, 1998, through December 31, 2008, and compared compliance rates within the first year and time to compliance for lead hazard remediation between 1998 and 2002 (precourt period) and between 2003 and 2008 (court period). This study evaluated predictors of time to compliance.

Within 1 year of the IFHI, 6.6% of the precourt and 76.8% of the court cases achieved compliance for the 3764 homes with data. Four years after the IFHI, 18% had attained compliance in the precourt period compared with 83.1% for the court period. A proportional hazard analysis found that compliance was 8 times more likely in the court than the precourt period.

 

Citations: 
Campbell C, Gracely E, Pan S, Cummings C, Palmero P, Gould G. Public Health and Law Collaboration: The Philadelphia Lead Court Study. American Journal of Public Health. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301076