Michele Polacsek and Karen O’Rourke present at annual Maine Public Health Association

Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor of public health, and Karen O’Rourke, M.P.H., assistant professor of public health, both of the School of Community and Population Health, presented their work as part of a panel discussion titled “Why We Need a Sugar Sweetened Beverage Revolution: The Maine Response.”  The presentation addressed the work they have  done through the Maine Prevention Research Center to conduct a Health Impact Assessment on a Sugar Sweetened Beverage excise tax for the state of Maine. Polacsek is leading the assessment with help from O'Rourke.

The process has involved convening several stakeholder groups, conducting stakeholder interviews, and assessing the existing literature, as well as conducting analyses to help understand the potential health effects and other impacts of such a tax on Maine populations. The purpose of performing this Health Impact Assessment is to improve the quality of public policy decision-making with regards to a potential Sugar Sweetened Beverage excise tax.

A Health Impact Assessment is a collection of procedures and tools through which policies can be evaluated based on their potential effects on the health of a population and the distribution of those effects within the population.

Read more about the Health Impact Assessment.