title: Civil Rights Laws as Tools to Advance Health in the Twenty-First Century.
abstract: To improve health in the twenty-first century, to promote both access to and quality of health care services and delivery, and to address significant health disparities, legal and policy approaches, specifically those focused on civil rights, could be used more intentionally and strategically. This review describes how civil rights laws, and their implementation and enforcement, help to encourage health in the United States, and it provides examples for peers around the world. The review uses a broad lens to define health for both classes of individuals and their communities--places where people live, learn, work, and play. Suggestions are offered for improving health and equity broadly, especially within societal groups and marginalized populations. These recommendations include multisectorial approaches that focus on the social determinants of health.
authors.affiliation: Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland 20852; email: angela.mcgowan@hhs.gov.
authors.forename: Angela K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: McGowan
authors.affiliation: PolicyLink, Los Angeles, California 90012; email: mary@policylink.org.
authors.forename: Mary M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Baltimore, Maryland; email: menesescm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cristina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Meneses
authors.affiliation: National Health Law Program, Network for Public Health Law-Southeastern Region, Carrboro, North Carolina 27510; email: perkins@healthlaw.org.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perkins
authors.affiliation: National Health Law Program, Washington, DC 20005; email: youdelman@healthlaw.org.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Youdelman
mesh_terms: D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003469:Culture; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D006291:Health Policy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000458:organization & administration; D007802:Language; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D064890:Social Determinants of Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012935:Social Justice; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: disparities; equity; health reform; multisectorial; policy; social justice