PubMed · 15573085
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J M Goldman. 2004. Who will regulate the regulators?. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704775
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OBJECTIVES: We assessed the structure and functions of state health departments throughout the United States and compared our findings with those from a previous national assessment conducted in 1990. METHODS: In 2001, we sent a survey to the state health officers of all 50 states. The survey asked about the structure and functions of the state health agency. RESULTS: The survey was completed by state health officers from 47 states (a 94% response rate). More than half of the states responding had a freestanding state public health agency and a state board or council of health. Forty-four percent had a regional or district structure. Although some traditional public health functions have been curtailed, important new public health functions have emerged since 1990. CONCLUSIONS: Our current findings confirm core changes in the structure and functions of state public health systems over the past decade and emphasize the need for more research into these systems to maximize their organizational performance.
The US Department of Energy, Office of Environment, Safety and Health, Office of Health is responsible for maintaining the Department of Energy's occupational radiation protection rule, Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 835, Occupational Radiation Protection. The Department of Energy is evaluating amending its rule to include the dose assessment methodology recommended in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publications 60 and 68. On 21 June 2004 the ICRP posted their draft, Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection 2005, which included revisions to the recommended dose assessment methodology. The Department of Energy compared the draft recommendations to determine their effect on the changes the Department of Energy is currently considering.
Secondhand smoke is a cause of disease in healthy nonsmokers, and an increasing number of states have adopted laws prohibiting smoking in private-sector worksites, restaurants, and bars. However, certain state governments have provisions in their state smoking restrictions that preempt more stringent local laws. North Carolina has such a preemptive state smoking law, passed in 1993, which mandates that 20% of the space within state-controlled buildings be designated as smoking areas. Exemptions from the law included local health departments (LHDs), providing an opportunity for public health practitioners to enact more stringent policies. To assess smoking policy gains from this exemption, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) surveyed LHD directors. Results of the survey indicated uncertainty regarding the state law, with 37% of LHD directors believing they were prohibited from enacting a 100% tobacco-free policy on LHD grounds and 20% not knowing whether they were prohibited. The North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors used these findings to work with legislators in the North Carolina General Assembly to amend the state smoking law in 2005, specifying that the exemption applies to both LHD buildings and grounds.