Publications
Student Submission: The Education and Health Impact of Restricting Diversity, Education, and Inclusion Programming in Alabama
April 12, 2024 Raimi Liebel | UAB Graduate Student, Magic City Acceptance Center Intern LHC is proud to feature student work on relevant policy issues such as this one. If you are a UAB student interested in contributing to Policy Watch publications, please...
Overcoming Needle Fear: Strategies to Minimize Vaccination Pain
April 1, 2024 | Miriam Calleja, LHC Staff Needle phobia is more than just a minor concern; it’s a legitimate issue that can lead to avoidance of essential medical care, including vaccination. For parents and healthcare professionals, understanding how to...
Policy Watch: Creating a Voluntary Do-Not-Sell List in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for Firearm Purchases
Background Currently, in the state of Alabama, the ability to buy a firearm is available to most adults over the age of 18, with certain weapons restricted to citizens over the age of 21. Individuals who have been convicted of certain violent or alcohol-related...
Boldly Opening Doors to Better Chances and Improved Healthcare
A BOLD grant was awarded to a program by MedsPLUS in collaboration with the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy and Jenkins Public Health Consulting. By Miriam Calleja The Building Opportunities for Lasting Development (BOLD) grant awarded by The City of...
Student Reflection: SOPHE 2023 Advocacy Summit
In October, I attended Society for Public Health Education’s 2023 Advocacy Summit to present on my experience as a Health Policy Ambassador. Together with other Ambassadors from the 2022-2023 cohort, I developed a poster and discussed the structure of the program, our...
Cool Green: Together, we gather strength
Together, we gather strength. A partnership of teams brings fantastic news for the livability and health of Birmingham! By Miriam Calleja When we think about our health, we often focus on factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, and medication....
Policy Watch: US House of Representatives Proposes Significant Spending Cuts to CDC, Public Health Funding
Kimberly Randall | August 15, 2023 Background Each year, the House of Representatives and Senate pass a series of legislation that determine the funding for the federal agencies operating in the US government. Funding is broken down into two categories –...
Student Submission: Ocular Trauma and Nonpowder Firearms
August 11, 2023 | Ayaka Fujihashi, Medical Student Amidst the political climate on gun control and gun safety, there is another aspect of public safety that is often overlooked: nonpowder guns. Firearms such as BB guns, airsoft guns, and paintball guns. These...
Student Submission: Throwing Away Free Money
August 11, 2023 | Akshay Aluri, Medical Student Do you like free money? Everyone seems to except Alabama state legislators. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid to cover nearly all adults up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Line. As of today,...
Cool Green
Ariann Nassel, our Director of Geospatial Data Visualization, partnered with Cawaco RC&D Council and The Nature Conservancy in 2020 to develop Cool Green: Healthy Greening and Stormwater Opportunities for Jefferson County, Alabama. This web map application...
Glossary of Terms
Policy Watch: Policy Watch publications are modeled after a traditional white paper but contain plain-text, interdisciplinary analyses of active pieces of legislation or court cases that have potential outcomes on community health. These pieces include the background, text, impact, and next steps of a particular policy initiative, along with providing resources for how to get involved as a constituent or researcher.
Policy Review: Policy Review publications operate as a legislative review of current policies and provide a comparison to other peer cities, states, or countries on a specific health topic. These publications highlight room for growth or change with positive health outcomes.
Policy Works: Following the successful implementation of an executive order, resolution, legislation, court decision, or other policy mechanisms, Policy Works evaluates the effectiveness and impact on community health from origination to the present day.
Policy Brief: Everything you need to know, all in one place. Policy briefs are a traditional form of civic engagement used to encapsulate broad, often complex, situations and create a one-page document that’s easy to read and distribute to policymakers and citizens alike.
Policy Surveillance: Policy Surveillance is an initiative that the Lister Hill Center partnered with Drexel University to monitor legislation and policy changes at the municipal levels in Birmingham.