Reference no: EM133580546

Assignment: Public Health Policy Paper

Throughout the term you will be working toward identifying a policy or activity intervention to eliminate health inequities in a target population that experiences health disparities from the perspective of the leader of a government public health organization (e.g., Rochelle Walensky, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This assignment is designed to help you understand structural inequities, and to give you the skills to develop a policy or activity that has the ultimate goal of the elimination of a health disparity.

For example, if you choose COVID-19 for your contemporary public health issue, you will need to address health equity for this issue. For example, the goal could be to eliminate the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 among minoritized income, race, and ethnic communities in the United States. When thinking about COVID-19 as a contemporary public health issue, we know that it overlaps with the root causes of health disparities and the social determinants of health.

As noted, you should assume that you are the leader of a public health organization of your choosing in order for you to understand the amount of resources, in?uence, and power you have to e?ect change. Use whatever resources you can obtain to learn about the resources and in?uence you have.

These will often be readily available through the internet, but you can use other means such as interviews, printed materials, and others. You will need to identify who are your stakeholders. To whom do you report? Who holds you accountable? You will also learn a lot about the organization you are leading.

This type of public health communication project can be a new policy, modi?cation of existing policies, a community intervention or activity, the creation of a new program, a website, or other project that will contribute to the elimination of health inequities. I will provide a rubric on how the paper will be graded and guidelines for each section. Brie?y, the policy paper will generally consist of the following elements:

A. Title and Abstract

• Brie?y provide a title and abstract summarizing the policy.

B. The Issue

• Briefly Introduce and describe the contemporary public health issue.

C. Background

• Describe the current impact of the contemporary public health issue in the target population and how the organization you lead is associated with the contemporary public health issue.

D. Policy

• Describe the policy/activity. How are you going to implement this policy/activity? From whom do you need approval? Who will be the target population? What data will you be collecting to inform you if the policy/activity is having an impact?

E. Budget

• How much will it cost? What assumptions have you made?

F. Outcome

• What is the expected measurable outcome and how do you know if you achieve your goals?

G. Stakeholder Engagement

• Who are your stakeholders, and how would they be involved?

H. References

• At least 10 references with the majority being peer-review publications (e.g., PubMed, PsycInfo)

The paper should be no more than 10 pages, using Times New Roman 12 font, double-space lines, and one-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right).

The worksheets and the policy paper are intended to address the following public health learning competencies:

1) Advocacy for protection and promotion of the public's health at all levels of society
2) Community dynamics
3) Critical thinking and creativity
4) Cultural contexts in which public health professionals work
5) Ethical decision making as related to self and society
6) Independent work and a personal work ethic
7) Networking
8) Organizational dynamics
9) Professionalism
10) Research methods
11) Systems thinking
12) Teamwork and leadership.