Legal and public policy responses of states to bioterrorism.

Health System Reform in the United States

In 2010, the United States adopted its first-ever comprehensive set of health system reforms in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Implementation of the law, though politically contentious and controversial, has now reached a stage where reversal of most elements of the law is no longer feasible. The controversial portions of the law that expand affordable health insurance coverage to most U.S. cit...

Calls for Stricter Legislation and Fear in the European Immigrant Community: Reflections of the Public Charge Debate Ongoing in the United States; Comment on “A Crisis of Humanitarianism: Refugees at the Gates of Europe”

In the editorial, “A Crisis of Humanitarianism: Refugees at the Gates of Europe,” Marianna Fotaki elegantly highlights the changing dynamics of governmental policy toward refugees, forced migrants into Europe and the move away from the principles of humanitarianism.1 The perceived threats to economy, securi...

International Public Health Responses to COVID-19 Outbreak: A Rapid Review

Background: The outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a significant threat to many countries. Since the disease does not currently have a particular treatment, there is a compelling need to find substitute means to dominate its expansion. In this rapid review, we aimed to determine some countries’ public responses to the COVID-19 epidemic.Methods: In this study, academ...

Modernizing local responses to public health emergencies: bioterrorism, epidemics, and the model state emergency health powers act.

Should Employers Be Permitted not to Hire Smokers? A Review of US Legal Provisions

Background Increasingly, healthcare and non-healthcare employers prohibit or penalize the use of tobacco products among current and new employees in the United States. Despite this trend, and for a range of different reasons, around half of states currently legally protect employees from being denied positions, or having employment contracts terminated, due to tobacco use.   Methods We undertoo...