Health Notes
The Research Division is collaborating with the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Impact Project to produce a series of health notes on legislation before the Council.
Health notes help lawmakers learn the potential health implications of proposed legislation and policies. They are brief, objective, and nonpartisan summaries of how proposed legislation could affect health. A database of health notes produced for the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions is available here.
Health notes identify the potential and often-overlooked connections between policy and health to provide legislators with data to support decision-making. Each note describes the evidence and categorizes its strength. However, they are not intended to make definitive or causal predictions about how a proposed bill will affect the health and well-being of constituents, nor do they provide a cost-benefit analysis or recommend supporting or opposing legislation.
The Health Impact Project has produced six health notes for the Council on the:
Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendment Act of 2022
Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022
Metro for D.C. Amendment Act of 2021
Child Wealth Building Act of 2021
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2020
Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2020
Health Note: Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendment Act of 2022
The health note reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of the introduced version of the Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-941). The legislation was subsequently incorporated into the Preserving Our Kids’ Equity Through Trusts (POCKETT) Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-857).
Its key findings include:
There is strong evidence that youth aging out of foster care experience a variety of challenges in early adulthood.
There is strong evidence that homelessness negatively affects the health and well-being of foster youth.
The effects of providing housing vouchers to foster youth are not well researched.
The evidence regarding the effects of supportive services on transition outcomes is mixed.
There is strong evidence that youth who are already at risk of experiencing health inequities are at highest risk for negative outcomes when transitioning out of foster care.
To complete this health note, the Health Impact Project’s staff screened 3,614 titles and abstracts published between 2017 and 2022. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.
HEALTH NOTE: DOMESTIC WORKER EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS AMENDMENT ACT OF 2022
The health note reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of the introduced version of the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24-712).
Its key findings include:
There is strong evidence that domestic workers in the U.S. often make tradeoffs between protecting their personal health and safety and financial wellness.
There is strong evidence that lack of regulations or formalized complaint channels compound domestic workers’ physical and mental health risks.
There is strong evidence that domestic workers are disproportionately women, single mothers, people of color, and immigrants, which raises important equity considerations given these groups’ historical exclusion from protections and benefits enjoyed by other workers.
To complete this health note, the Health Impact Project staff screened 1,777 titles and abstracts published between 2017 and 2022. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.
Health note: metro for d.C. amendment act of 2021
The health note reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of the Metro for D.C. Amendment Act of 2021 (Bill 24-429).
Its key findings include:
There is strong evidence that public transit costs and fare reductions affect ridership rates.
There is strong evidence that reducing or eliminating public transit fares can increase ridership, especially for older adults.
There is strong evidence that public transit users achieve more daily physical activity than motor vehicle users, which results in health benefits.
There is strong evidence that public transportation is safer than riding in a car.
There is mixed evidence on how discretionary transit riders—those who have access to other forms of transportation, such as a car—respond to these incentives.
To complete this health note, the Health Impact Project staff screened 46 titles and abstracts published between 2016 and 2021. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.
Health note: child wealth building act of 2021
The report reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of the Child Wealth Building Act of 2021 (Bill 24-236).
Its key findings include:
A fair amount of evidence suggests that the positive effects of CDAs on parent and child well-being are related to automatic account opening and deposit features.
There is a fair amount of evidence that CDAs can raise expectations of parents and children regarding children’s education outcomes.
There is a fair amount of evidence that baby bonds and child development accounts (CDAs) can help to reduce the racial wealth gap, particularly between Black and White Americans, decrease socioeconomic disparities in asset-building, and increase asset-holding among young adults. Furthermore, some evidence suggests that automatic enrollment in CDAs can encourage additional savings behavior, but this topic is not well researched.
The effects of having a CDA on parents’ mental health are not well researched, but one study indicated potential positive effects.
Health Impact Project staff screened 375 titles and abstracts published between 2016 and 2021. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts
health note: Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2020’s Housing Element
The report reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of Chapter 5: Housing Element of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Act of 2020 (Bill 24-1).
Its key findings include:
There is strong evidence that housing insecurity and unaffordability can harm physical and mental health.
There is strong evidence that neighborhood conditions can influence residents’ health.
There is mixed evidence on the health effects of relocating households from high poverty to lower poverty neighborhoods.
Creating affordable housing near public transit can increase low-income D.C. residents’ access to jobs, neighborhood satisfaction, and physical activity.
Success may depend on implementation strategies.
Health Impact Project staff screened 1,310 titles and abstracts published between 2016 and 2021. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.
Health Note: Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2020
The report reviews the available evidence on the potential health effects of the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2020 (Bill 23-882).
Its key findings include:
The health effects from implementing policies to prohibit the use of neck restraints by law enforcement officers are not well researched.
There is strong evidence that fatalities resulting from the actions of law enforcement officers and serious use of force incidents can negatively affect mental health of family members, communities, and officers, with Black communities disproportionately affected.
Although the evidence regarding the effects of body worn cameras (BWCs) on officers’ use of force, policing activities, and citizens’ complaints is mixed, one national survey found that most respondents believed BWCs would increase police transparency and improve police-citizen relations.
There is a fair amount of evidence of short-term benefits of specific types of implicit bias training for law enforcement officers; however, the longer-term effects are not well researched.
There is a fair amount of evidence that the adoption of strict policies on use of force tend to reduce police officers’ use of physical coercion, with potential benefits for health by decreasing the risk of injury during encounters between police and the public.
There is strong evidence that the use of chemical and projectile weapons, such as tear gas or rubber bullets, in crowd-control settings can cause significant injuries, permanent disabilities, and death.
Research for this analysis did not identify any studies specifically examining health effects from restoring people’s right to vote. However, there is strong evidence that civic engagement, which includes voting, is positively associated with health, and there is a fair amount of evidence specifically documenting the association between voting and health outcomes including physical and mental health, health behaviors, and well-being.
Health Impact Project staff screened 476 titles and abstracts published between 2015 and 2020. The health note was reviewed by a panel of subject-matter experts.