General formatting requirements: All assignments should be done in 12-point font, double spaced. If referencing material outside of the course, use an accepted referencing format (e.g., APA or MLA style). All material from outside the course must be appropriately referenced or it will be considered plagiarism.

Assignment 4 (weeks 8-9):

Issue briefing for either a local or state representative involved in policy development:

1. Select a current public health problem and describe the significance of the problem in terms of its epidemiology, population health impact, economic impact, and the types of policy issues raised by the nature of the problem.
2. Prepare a list of program or policy alternatives that could be implemented by a state or local health department to alleviate the problem you have identified. Discuss how you would weigh the public health impact, impact on health equity, political feasibility, ethical issues, and estimated costs of competing alternatives in forming your policy recommendation.

Please organize your answers using the following template. Your writing should be no more than three pages in length.

Title

Statement of the Issue/Problem

Brief (2-3 sentence) statement describing the issue. What is the problem you try to address?

Background

An explanation of the problem and its significance (in terms of its epidemiology, population health impact, and economic impact). This may pertain to current laws needing to be changed, current debate about the issue, and/or data about the issue

Include support as needed, including references to research literature if relevant

Responses and Policy options

What has been done or proposed about the issue so far? (include support as needed) List 2 or 3 policy options (either existed options or proposed alternatives) that can alleviate the issue. Explain each option clearly.

Criteria to be considered in forming your policy recommendation

What criteria would you consider in assessing and comparing all your policy options (as discussed in the Bardach text)? Discuss how you would weigh the public health impact, impact on health equity, political feasibility, ethicality, and estimated costs of competing alternatives in forming your policy recommendation. In addition to the discussion, please also include a table like this to indicate the criteria you would consider. A demonstrative example is provided as below (% are the weights to be considered for each criterion).

References

Use end notes throughout the brief rather than in-text citations.