Reference no: EM132411028

PUBH632 - Public Health Law and Policy - Australian Catholic University

Assessment Task: Ministerial Briefing Note

Background

For this assessment task, students will write a Briefing Noteto the Minister recommending a policy change that improves the health of the population. You are required to choose a topic from the list provided below. If you have your own topic that you are interested in, you will need to email the Lecturer in Charge (LIC), to seek written approval. Your arguments must be supported by citing peer-reviewed academic literature, credible government and non-government organisation sources, and/or official statistical resources (e.g. ABS, AIHW, OECDandWHO) as appropriate.

Instructions

Students will need to select one health policy from the following list:

1. Safe injecting centres provide a medically supervised and safe environment for people with a drug addiction problem. What advice would you give the Ministers for Health and Justice about establishing additional safe injecting centres?

2. Advertising by the gambling industry on prime-time television has increased. What advice would you give the Minister on regulating advertising of the gambling industry to prevent potential community harm?

3. Should co-payments for medical services be introduced in order to prevent inappropriate use of medical services and reduce rising health care costs?

4. Should complementary medicine products be subjected to the same regulatory processes as conventional pharmaceutical products?

5. What advice would you give the Minister for Health in relation to feasible options and strategies for preventing the further decline of immunisation rates in Australia?

6. The recently released Closing the Gap annual report on the quality of life of Indigenous Australians revealed improvements in some but not all health indicators. What policy advice would you give the Minister in relation to priorities for action to close the life expectancy/other health status gaps for Indigenous Australians?

7. The high prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB)is a health burden and leading cause of deathin some low- and middle-income countries. What policy advice would you give the Health Minister ofa high-prevalence country about preventing the spread of this infectious disease?

For this assessment task, you will analyse a policy change to be presented in the form of a Briefing Note, addressed to the relevant minister. The briefing should be presented from you in your ‘role' as the policy analyst in the relevant government department, and should includethe following:

• Heading: an appropriate heading that states your name and role; the relevant Minister for whom the note is intended; and the subject of the note;
• Purpose: succinct statement of the purpose of the briefing note;
• Background:a brief description of the context and history of the policy topic, and rationale for proposed change;
• Issues: identify the main issues pertinent to understanding the policy topic. The issues should be analysed from multiple perspectives (e.g. historical, financial, economic, political, social and ethical);
• Options: identify and evaluate alternative policy options; and
• Recommendations: based on the above analysis, advise the Minister on the most suitable course of action to be taken.

• Reference list (APA 6th referencing style): should be included at the end of the Briefing Note.
You must search the literature, and explicitly refer to peer-reviewed academic literature, credible government and non-government organisation sources, and/or official statistical resources (e.g. ABS, AIHWand WHO) to support your description and discussion of the selected health policy. A minimum of 10 - 12 references is expected, the majority should be peer-reviewed references (e.g. journal articles or book chapters).

Learning outcome:

1. Demonstrate an integrated understanding of the law and policy making processes, especially the contribution of public health practitioners and other key actors.