Assessing Information and Best Practices for Public Health Emergency Legal Preparedness

Information is the fourth core element of public health legal preparedness and of legal preparedness for public health emergencies specifically. Clearly, the creation, transmittal, and application of information are vital to all public health endeavors. The critical significance of information grows exponentially as the complexity and scale of public threats increase. Only a small body of organized information on public health law existed before the 21st century: a series of landmark books published beginning in 1926 by Tobey, Grad (1965), and Wing (1974); model public health laws published as early as 1907; systematic reviews of original research studies published in the 1990s; and a small but growing number of articles published in public health journals and law reviews. With the new century came new public health law programs and activities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in public health professional associations, and in numerous non-profit and academic organizations.