Charles Adam Brush ^1*, Maggie M. Kelly ¹, Denise Green ¹, Marcus Gaffney ¹, John Kattwinkel ², Molly French ³

¹ CDC/NCBDDD
² University of Virginia
³ Potomac Health Consulting, LLC

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cbrush{at}cdc.gov.

	Abstract

This paper reflects the proceedings of a symposium at a conference of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. We present examples of bridging the gap between science and policy to achieve improvements in children's health through case studies in early hearing detection and intervention, folic acid fortification to prevent birth defects, sleep positioning recommendations to reduce infant mortality, and work place lactation support programs. Case studies present different policy strategies (public health law and voluntary practices) for improving public health. These case studies demonstrate both the power of policy as a tool for improving children's health and the challenges of communicating public health research to policy decision makers.

Key Words: Child and Adolescent Health, Disability, Health Law, Health Policy, Health Professionals, Maternal and Infant Health