Research Results

The study reviewed policies from all 129 NY hospitals providing maternity care services. In 2009, none were fully compliant with WHO recommendations, but by 2013, 97, or 75 percent of the hospitals had compliant hospital breastfeeding policies. And as of April 2014, all 129 hospitals in New York had a fully compliant, approved, written breastfeeding policy in place.

Researchers reviewed 47 prescription monitoring program (PMP) websites for overdose content. They found that most PMPs did not address overdose or related terms in available materials and few state PMPs project overdose-specific messaging or provider tools for prevention.

This study explores 24 legislative options in five categories currently being used by states. The paper also offers evidence-based suggestions within each category for how to impact the strength of the vaccination requirement and the number of exemptions.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allowed states and localities to enforce federal immigration laws. This study finds that the state-level enforcement of this law has had an adverse impact on the use of pregnancy and childcare-related health services by Hispanic and Latina women.

Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons for seeking medical attention in the United States, and such pain is frequently treated with prescription opioids.

Tracking of infectious diseases is a public health core function essential to disease prevention and control. Each state mandates reporting of certain infectious diseases to public health authorities. These laws vary by state, and the variation could affect the ability to collect critical information.

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic served as a case study to examine the legal authority in the 50 states; Washington, DC; and New York City for mandatory infectious disease reporting, particularly for influenza and new or emerging infectious diseases.

New Jersey (NJ) implemented the first Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) decal provision in the U.S. in May 2010. An initial study reported a 1-year post-decal decrease in the crash rate among NJ intermediate drivers aged <21 years. Longer-term analysis is critical for policymakers in other states considering whether to implement a decal provision. This study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, evaluates the longer-term (2-year) effect of NJ’s decal provision on overall and age-specific crash rates of young drivers with intermediate licenses.

A team from the LA Department of Health analyzed 20 different documents broadly defined as “joint use agreements.” The findings are displayed in this report, which provides a snapshot of the relative strengths and weaknesses of all 20 agreements through analysis and case studies from neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area.

This study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, collected and characterized all statutes and regulations effective from 1998 through 2011 governing the operation of prescription monitoring programs. As of 2011, 10 states required PMPs to report suspicious activity to law enforcement, while only three required reporting to the patient’s physician. None required linkage to drug treatment or required all prescribers to review PMP data before prescribing. Few explicitly address data retention.

Illegal drug use is a persistent problem, prescription drug abuse is on the rise, and there is clinical evidence that drug use reduces driving performance. This study describes trends in characteristics of drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes who test positive for drugs, and finds that the profile of a drugged driver has changed substantially over time. An increasing share of these drivers is now testing positive for prescription drugs, cannabis, and multiple drugs.