New Guidebook Available on Equitable Enforcement to Achieve Health Equity

Equitable Enforcement to Achieve Health Equity: An Introductory Guide for Policymakers and Practitioners (guide available for download on this website with free signup for the website’s library) is a free new guidebook available from ChangeLab Solutions (ChangeLab). ChangeLab  is a national organization that advances equitable laws and policies to ensure healthy lives for all. ChangeLab has a multidisciplinary team of lawyers, planners, policy analysts, and other professionals that work with state and local governments, advocacy organizations, and anchor institutions to create thriving communities.

This guidebook was listed on the Centers for Disease Control website and came about because enforcement actions taken in the name of public health can sometimes harm, discriminate against, or otherwise undermine the health of the very people whom the laws are meant to protect. Enforcement that is carried out inequitably can create or make worse existing health inequities. The thinking behind equitable enforcement is that wrongdoers can be held accountable while still protecting the health of individuals and the community and incentivizing compliance.