The left hand of the screen has a list of topics with a + to the left of each topic. Clicking on the + expands a topic, displaying subtopics. These can be expanded until you drill down to the lowest level of the outline. Clicking on a topic displays the text associated with the topic. At the top center of the right side of the screen there is a link to the TABLE OF CONTENTS, which is an expanded list of all topics. At the right top of the screen are PREVIOUS and NEXT links, which allow you to read the topics in order.

Outside Links and Quick Reference

The Map is part of the Medical and Public Health Law Site, which contains articles and primary references such as cases. These are organized around a topical index. The Map has quick reference guides for Public Health Topics, General Medical Law Topics , and General Legal Topics .

The Contents of the Map

The Public Health Law Map is intended to help non-lawyers learn the fundamentals of public health law, and to help lawyers who are working in a new area learn the fundamentals. It is not a substitute for legal advice. States have different approaches to the law and any given state law may differ from what is presented in the Map. While the Map is updated, there will always be areas when it is out of date.

The Public Health Law Map has three levels of materials:

The introductory materials are aimed at persons who are new to medical and public health law, whether lawyers or laypersons. These materials are useful for introductory course on the legal system for health professionals and public health students.

The reference articles are aimed at persons who need to use public health law in public health practice or in court. For example, the article on fluoridation outlines the public health basis for fluoridation, the basic legal authority for fluoridating drinking water, a model that can used to write a brief for defending a fluoridation program, and links to primary cases and CDC reference materials.

The Public Health Law Map is part of the Medical and Public Health Law WWW Site. If the reference materials are available in the public domain, they are published on the main WWW site and linked to from the Map. This will assure that any links to these reference materials from outside pages or course materials will be stable through time. If materials are not available for publication on the WWW site, they are linked to on their primary site or a citation is provided to access them through traditional media and library materials.

While there is an ongoing effort to keep the materials updated, there is no guarantee that any material represents the most recent legal or public health information. These are intended as teaching materials and aids to research, they are not a substitute for legal advice and legal research.