Publications
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...
Policy Brief: Health implications of ARPA funding dedicated to on-site wastewater systems in the Black Belt area of Alabama
March 14, 2023 | Kimberly Randall, LHC Staff A number of Alabama residents, particularly in the Black Belt area, are unable to connect to centralized water and sewage utilities and instead rely on on-site sanitation systems, or septic tanks. These systems are costly,...
Policy Watch: Alabama Bill Looks to Decrease Correctional Incentive Time in State Prison System
March 6, 2023 | Kimberly Randall, LHC Staff As the 2023 Alabama Legislative Session begins on March 6 with Governor Ivey’s State of the State Address, dozens of bills have been pre-filed over the last few weeks. This year starts the first of a four-year term with new...
Student Reflections from APHA 2022
The mission of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy (LHC) is to connect and support those seeking to improve health outcomes through policy. A key aim in achieving pursuing our mission is to empower students to affect policy change. We support students’ growth in...
Policy Watch: Alabama legislature authorizes enhanced lead regulations
September 6, 2022 | Anantha Korrapati, LHC Intern Lead is a natural chemical commonly used in various products such as household paint (before 1978), gasoline (before 1995), and plumbing pipes and fixtures. However, it is a potent neurotoxin that harms people,...
Policy Watch: Alabama Becomes First State to Enact Elder Abuse Registry
July 12, 2022 | Anantha Korrapati & Kimberly Randall, LHC Staff Background Elder abuse is a prevalent issue in the United States and comes in various forms, such as physical harm, neglect or desertion, financial exploitation, and emotional abuse through verbal and...
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.