Protecting Public Health Authority

The rollback of public health authority catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the workforce training and policy needs of health departments. How can we empower the public health workforce amid the current climate of challenges to public health authority? 

In this 75-minute discussion, panelists unpack recent challenges to public health authority and their impact on health equity. Listen to the recording to explore how these challenges make it all the more important for public health workers to be trained in the law. Our panelists discuss actionable ideas, promising policy interventions, and equitable policymaking strategies to support public health departments’ authority so they can effectively advance the needs of children and families in the wake of the pandemic. 

Speakers

• Samantha Bent Weber, acting health equity officer, National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Maggie Davis, director of state health policy, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
• Adam Snipes, Oklahoma state campaign consultant, Local Solutions Support Center
• Lonias Gilmore, director of health equity and social justice, Big Cities Health Coalition
• Sabrina Adler, vice president of law, ChangeLab Solutions (moderator)

Highlights

Pandemic policy changes. During the pandemic we saw policy changes that often sought to undermine the ability of those who are most equipped to protect the public's health. In the courts, while many judges upheld the authority of public health officials, others veered from long-standing precedent to find what they saw as overreach. Many of these decisions had detrimental effects on public health for the most marginalized communities. —Sabrina Adler

Public health restrictions. A recent measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, shows the dangers of stripping away public health authority. Since 2020, local boards of health can only issue quarantine and isolation orders to people who have been diagnosed. Public health officials can’t close schools or businesses except in very limited circumstances. These laws are prohibiting what used to be routine public health response tools. —Lonias Gilmore

A recent measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, shows the dangers of stripping away public health authority. Since 2020, local boards of health can only issue quarantine and isolation orders to people who have been diagnosed. Public health officials can’t close schools or businesses except in very limited circumstances. These laws are prohibiting what used to be routine public health response tools. —Lonias Gilmore

Relationship building. Relationship building has always been a crucial part of public health work, and these changes are making it even more important than ever before. —Samantha Bent Weber

Public health funding. There wasn't enough trust in public health prior to the pandemic, and part of the reason was that public health was drastically underfunded. One of the silver linings coming out of the pandemic was the federal insight of needing more dedicated funding in public health —particularly for the public health infrastructure and the workforce. —Maggie Davis

There wasn't enough trust in public health prior to the pandemic, and part of the reason was that public health was drastically underfunded. One of the silver linings coming out of the pandemic is the federal insight of needing more dedicated funding in public health — particularly for public health infrastructure and the workforce. —Maggie Davis

Local control. In Oklahoma when our governor reopened a lot of things prematurely, our school boards and local health departments tried to take action to protect public health, but there was a lot of retaliation. It highlights the importance of local government being able to respond to their community conditions. —Adam Snipes

Webinar Recording

This webinar is part of our virtual engagement series Equity in Action: Policymaking for Community Health.