Impact of Regulatory Policy on Out-of-Hospital Care, Legal Mobilization, and Social Movements

Drake University, Des Moines IA

Investigators

Abstract

This project examines the impact that regulatory policy has on out-of-hospital care provided by certified health professionals. It examines the different ways that certified health professionals interpret regulation, follow rules, and understand their scope of practice, given the differing regulatory environments in which they operate. The research asks whether and how the professionalization and regulation of certified health professionals impact the provision of health care; whether regulation operates as intended; and whether voids created by the absence of regulation are filled by other means. In addition, the research examines whether and how certified health professionals seek legal status and regulation, the varying ways in which law is mobilized toward this end, and the impact of such mobilization on the professional identities and legal consciousness of certified health professionals. Answering these questions contributes to theoretical understanding of the important relationship between law and health, and has broad implications for policy-making and the regulation of health care outside of the dominant medical model. The broader impact of the research also includes training and education of undergraduate students. The project utilizes ethnographic participant-observation, interview research, and documentary evidence coupled with interpretive social science methods in order to analyze the regulations surrounding out-of-hospital care in the United States. In the face of a complex web of regulations and disparate enforcement state-by-state, the project focuses on three states where regulatory environments and implementation varies, and relies on a case study of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs). The findings of this research will advance sociolegal scholarship and theory on the implementation of laws, legal mobilization, and legal consciousness of social movement and professional actors.