Broadband Access as a Public Health Issue: The Role of Law in Expanding Broadband Access and Connecting Underserved Communities for Better Health Outcomes

Brittney Crock Bauerly; Russell F McCord; Rachel Hulkower; Dawn Pepin

doi:10.1177/1073110519857314

Broadband Access as a Public Health Issue: The Role of Law in Expanding Broadband Access and Connecting Underserved Communities for Better Health Outcomes

J Law Med Ethics. 2019 Jun;47(2_suppl):39-42. doi: 10.1177/1073110519857314.

Authors

Brittney Crock Bauerly¹, Russell F McCord¹, Rachel Hulkower¹, Dawn Pepin¹

Affiliation

¹ Brittney Crock Bauerly, J.D., was a Staff Attorney for the Network for Public Health Law - Northern Region Office at the time of submission. Russell F. McCord, J.D., was an ORISE Fellow, Child Development Studies, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the time of submission. Rachel Hulkower, J.D., M.S.P.H., is a Cherokee Nation Assurance contractor for the Public Health Law Program, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, CDC. Dawn Pepin, J.D., M.P.H., is a Cherokee Nation Assurance contractor for the Public Health Law Program, Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support, CDC.

Abstract

Broadband internet access is a super-determinant of health that plays an important role in healthcare and public health outcomes. Laws and policies shape implementation and use of broadband for healthcare and public health. Connecting broadband and telehealth laws with their health impacts, through legal epidemiological research, enables states to make evidence-based decisions to improve health outcomes for underserved populations.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Health Policy / legislation & jurisprudence*
Humans
Internet Access*
Legal Epidemiology
Medically Underserved Area
Outcome Assessment, Health Care
Public Health*
Social Determinants of Health
Telemedicine / legislation & jurisprudence*
United States / epidemiology

Grants and funding

CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHS/United States