title: Meeting the challenge: using policy to improve children's health.
abstract: We reflect on the proceedings of a symposium at a conference of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. We present examples of bridging the gap between science and policy to achieve improvements in children's health through case studies in early hearing detection and intervention, folic acid fortification to prevent birth defects, sleep positioning recommendations to reduce infant mortality, and workplace lactation support programs. We discuss case studies that present different policy strategies (public health law and voluntary practices) for improving public health. These case studies demonstrate both the power of policy as a tool for improving children's health and the challenges of communicating public health research to policy decisionmakers.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, 1600 Clifton Road, Mail Stop E-87, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. cbrush@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Charles Adam
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brush
authors.forename: Maggie M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaffney
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kattwinkel
authors.forename: Molly
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: French
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000517:prevention & control; D014481:United States