The Challenges of Conducting Intrastate Policy Surveillance

A Methods Note on County and City Laws in Indiana

Bibliographic Data

ID11024930
AuthorsLindsey Sanner (0000-0001-6287-5775, Lindsey Sanner is with the Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Sean Grant is with the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Heather Walter-McCabe is with the Department of Social Work and Law and the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Ross D. Silverman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M...), Alina Schnake-Mahl (0000-0002-7775-3022, Lindsey Sanner is with the Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Sean Grant is with the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Heather Walter-McCabe is with the Department of Social Work and Law and the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Ross D. Silverman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M...), Sean Grant, Heather McCabe (0000-0002-0246-4170, Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation), Heather Walter-McCabe (Lindsey Sanner is with the Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Sean Grant is with the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Heather Walter-McCabe is with the Department of Social Work and Law and the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Ross D. Silverman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M...), Ross D Silverman (0000-0003-4492-3096, Lindsey Sanner is with the Center for Health Policy, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Sean Grant is with the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Heather Walter-McCabe is with the Department of Social Work and Law and the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indiana University, Indianapolis. Ross D. Silverman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Richard M...)
Year2021
Volume111
Issue6
Pages1095-1098
Publication date2021-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2021.306227
PMID33856879
OpenAlexW3155806783
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited4

Policy surveillance is critical in examining the ways law functions as a structural and social determinant of health. To date, little policy surveillance research has focused on examining intrastate variations in the structure and health impact of laws. Intrastate policy surveillance poses unique methodological challenges because of the complex legal architecture within states and inefficient curation of local laws. We discuss our experience with these intrastate policy surveillance challenges in Indiana, a state with 92 counties and several populous cities, a complicated history of home rule, systemically underfunded local governments, and variations in demography, geography, and technology adoption. In our case study, we expended significant time and resources to obtain county and city ordinances through online code libraries, jurisdiction Web sites, and (most notably) visits to offices to scan documents ourselves. A concerted effort is needed to ensure that local laws of all kinds are stored online in organized, searchable, and open access systems. Such an effort is vital to achieve the aspirational goals of policy surveillance at the intrastate level

Jurisdiction · Political science · State (computer science) · Computer Science · Ethics in Clinical Research · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Law · Public Administration · Public Health Policies and Education

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