迈克尔·戴尔和苏珊中心健康生活has several legislative initiatives that aim to advance child health by strengthening the relationship between research and policy, and providing data and information as a resource that can support key decisions and best practices. The Center aims to connect policymakers and legislators to researchers, including public health and community organizations, in Texas, and communicate data-driven, products and outcomes that include recommendations to impact state-level child health issues.
Texas Legislature Bill Tracker
Since the 2013 session, the Center has hosted a legislative bill tracker that identifies relevant legislative actions to research taking place at the Center and the expertise of our faculty.
- The 2021 legislative tracker is segmented into general categories: early childhood education, food policy, school/after-school care, tobacco/e-cigarettes, and more.
- The tracker is updated regularly with new bills as they are filed and the status of each bill as the session progresses.
- Each category of the legislative tracker is accompanied by relevant resources.
Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration (Texas RPC) Project
The Texas RPC Project bridges research and policy by supporting partnerships between child health research experts and policymakers in Texas.
The Texas RPC Project supports legislators by:
- Providing Texas level-data and research,
- Sharing current research on health issues, and
- Establishing partnerships between researchers and policymakers.
The Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration Project team and research network are available to support Texas policymakers with informational requests or resources related to health topics, during the interim and throughout the 2023 Legislative Session. Please direct requests toTXRPCNetwork@uth.tmc.edu.
Texas Child Health Status Report and Toolkit
The Center has created a series of user-friendly materials to raise awareness of child health risk factors in order to develop new programs and actions, and to build on current initiatives in Texas. TheHealthy Children, Healthy Statereport series and the accompanying toolkit include:
- Status highlights of child health in Texas, with a focus on health disparities (i.e. obesity, nutrition, screen-time, tobacco use, etc.); and
- Toolkits to accompany the reports that are intended for parents, schools, and public health audiences to use to advocate for child health in relation to local, school, and statewide policy.
Community Partnerships
The Center is involved in various steering committees that are involved in legislative work such as thePartnership for a Healthy Texas,Live Smart Texas, theTexas Public Health Coalition, and theMayor's Health & Fitness Council.
