The Freedom of Information Act: implications for public health policy and practice.

摘要

This installment of Law and the Public's Health provides an overview of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA is important to public health practitioners for at least three reasons: its power to aid public health advocacy, its impact on government accountability and transparency, and its ability to aid public health practice and policy-making. All states also have enacted laws governing open access to governmental information, many with provisions similar to the federal FOIA.Over the years, FOIA has played a central role in advancing public health policy by enabling investigations and research on topics as wide-ranging as human radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War, federal farm subsidies, reports about ill airline passengers, implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and distracted driving due to cell phone use.