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US State-Level Legislative Responses to the Ebola Outbreak, 2014-2015

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2016

Lainie Rutkow  and
Alexandra Jabs
Lainie Rutkow*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
Alexandra Jabs
Affiliation:
Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Lainie Rutkow, Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 592, Baltimore, MD 21205 (e-mail: lrutkow@jhu.edu).
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Abstract

Objective

We sought to systematically identify and analyze state-level legislative responses to Ebola from April 2014 through June 2015.

Methods

Using standardized search terms, we searched the LexisNexis State Capital database to identify bills or resolutions that explicitly mentioned Ebola or viral hemorrhagic fever in all 50 US states and Washington, DC, from April 2014 through June 2015. Information was abstracted from relevant bills or resolutions by using an electronic data collection form. Abstracted information was analyzed to identify themes and patterns.

Results

Our search processes returned 273 bills and resolutions; 17 met our inclusion criterion. These 17 bills and resolutions were introduced in 11 states. The primary goals of these materials concerned the following: protecting or acknowledging public health and health care workers (n=4), revising the definition of “communicable disease” (n=3), financial considerations (n=5), establishing a task force (n=2), and updating or creating facilities (n=3). Six bills were enacted and 4 resolutions were adopted.

Conclusion

Approximately 20% of the states introduced bills or resolutions concerning the Ebola outbreak. These bills and resolutions highlight important practice considerations, including protections for those who assist in treating Ebola and revision of laws in the face of emerging infectious disease threats. Policy-makers and emergency planners would benefit from incorporating lessons learned from states’ Ebola responses into their preparedness activities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:649–653)

Keywords

legal preparednessEbolapublic health workforce
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 649 - 653
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

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References

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