Dellana, Christopher
(2018)
A public health appraisal of good samaritan legislation.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
This is the latest version of this item.
Abstract
Good Samaritan laws are, at their core, legislative public health interventions. These laws abrogate the common law right of redress and the public interest in criminal justice to promote a greater good—encouraging would-be Levites to become Samaritans for fellow citizens in their hours of need. As such, these laws embody public health significance. But do they achieve as much? While most traditional Good Samaritan laws in the United States have been around for more than half of a century, there exists very little insight into whether they have actually achieved their basic public health purpose of encouraging (or compelling) spontaneous care in emergency situations. A public health appraisal of these Good Samaritan laws is difficult, in part, because of the statutory variability among them and the lack of reliable data sources or legislative benchmarks informing them. A wide array of laws might be considered related to or aligned with Good Samaritan ideology, but this paper focuses only on laws that indemnify actors from liability for spontaneously rendering emergency aid in emergency situations. This paper discusses various methods for measuring the policy outcome of these laws and insists on greater intentionality in the legislative process to urge that future policymaking in this area be the product of responsible, evidence-based decisions rather than uninformed guesswork.
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Details
| Item Type: |
Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper
(Master Essay)
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| Contributors: |
| Contribution | Contributors Name | Email | Pitt Username | ORCID  |
|---|
| Committee Chair | Van Nostrand, Elizabeth | evannostrand@pitt.edu | UNSPECIFIED | UNSPECIFIED | | Committee Member | Crossley, Mary | crossley@pitt.edu | UNSPECIFIED | UNSPECIFIED |
|
| Date: |
23 April 2018 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Number of Pages: |
82 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Public Health > Health Policy & Management |
| Degree: |
MPH - Master of Public Health |
| Thesis Type: |
Master Essay |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Good Samaritan laws, policymaking, public health, health law, health care, opioid, immunity |
| Date Deposited: |
31 Jan 2019 15:19 |
| Last Modified: |
31 Jan 2019 15:19 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/34390 |
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A public health appraisal of good samaritan legislation. (deposited 31 Jan 2019 15:19)
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