UPDATED at bottom
One topic missing from the PLE research I’ve digested so far is the relation of public legal education to public health. In fact, for a long time I wondered if anyone had even thought much about this. Lately, I’ve begun finding a (very) few discussions of the connection.
There are at least two different connections worth exploring:
1. The impact of public legal education and awareness on health.
I’ve found two recent articles from the UK that treat this, both by lead author Pascoe Pleasence, Head of the UK Legal Services Research Centre. Pleasance and his research team conducted a random, nationwide survey and found significant links between civil legal problems and ill health. Among his conclusions are that
The promotion of public awareness of a broad range of legal rights/obligations (through both general public education and basic individual advice) should be regarded as both a justice and public health issue.
Read the rest of this entry »