PUBH310
Detailed Policy Brief Assignment
→ Final Policy Brief due Monday, February 28 @ 11:59 PM
Points:
● 15 points for ‘preparatory’ PB assignments
○ PB Assignments #1-3
● 85 points for Final Policy Brief
○ PB Homework #5
→ = 100 points total
This document outlines all of the components of the Final Policy Brief assignment in detail.
→ First, choose a country to focus on — no limitations, you can choose a low- middle- or high-income country
→ Next, choose a health challenge currently facing that country that you would like to research and present in this
assignment
● Please do not choose COVID-19 as your health challenge as you will be asked to address the effects of
COVID-19 on your health challenge within the Brief itself.
The Final Policy Brief should read as one, cohesive document and should include each of the following sections:
POLICY BRIEF OUTLINE
I.
Introductory Paragraph
II.
Nature & Magnitude of the Problem
III.
Populations Most Affected / Risk Factors
IV.
Social & Economic Consequences
V.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
VI.
Recommendations
VII.
Reference list
A. —> Please note, you are required to have a minimum of 15 references.
I. Introductory Paragraph
NOTE: You will complete the Introductory Paragraph LAST, after you have completed each of the other main body
paragraphs.
→ The Introductory Paragraph should be a very succinct summary of the entire Policy Brief; if someone can only read
one paragraph of the entire Brief, this will be the one they should read to gain a quick but informative overview of the
health challenge in your chosen country.
No need to go into detail in this paragraph; most sentences can include lists of the key components of each section.
You are encouraged to use lines you have already written – word for word – from your other main body paragraphs.
→ This is the recommended outline for the Introductory Paragraph
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduce the health issue + country of focus of the Policy Brief.
Mortality rate and incidence and/or prevalence rate of the health problem (Nature & Magnitude paragraph).
Population which is most affected/ risk factors (Population Affected/ Risk Factors paragraph).
3 social & economic consequences (Social & Economic Consequences paragraph).
2 effects (direct or indirect) of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health problem (Effects of COVID-19 paragraph)
Recommended strategies (Recommended strategies paragraph).
II. Nature & Magnitude of the problem
You should have completed this paragraph for Policy Brief Homework #2. You are highly encouraged to incorporate the
feedback the Teaching Team offered on this paragraph in the final version of the Policy Brief.
III. Populations Most Affected / Risk Factors for the problem
In this paragraph you will identify the main population/ risk factor and at least three sub-populations most affected by
your chosen health problem in your country AND/OR the main risk factors associated with contracting or developing
your chosen health problem
1. The population in your chosen country who is most affected by the health problem you are focusing on / or the
main risk factor for contracting or developing the health problem (first 1-2 sentences of the paragraph)
i.
Include descriptive statistic(s) and the year(s) for which the statistic(s) is/are relevant
b. At least three population subgroups which are also affected by the health problem in your chosen
country and/or main risk factors associated with contracting or developing your chosen health problem
Risk factors are defined by Last (2001) as “an aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, an environmental exposure, or
an inborn or inherited characteristic that on the basis of epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with
health-related condition(s).” (p. 51).
i.
What are some examples of common population subgroups / risk factors? (Not an exhaustive
list!)
1. Sex
2. Gender
3. Age
4. Education levels
5. Geography / location of community, housing within a community
6. Structural determinants of health
a. Ie Physical/ biological effects of experiences of racism, exposure to violence
7. Social determinants of health
a. Ie Exposure to certain conditions, elements, weather patterns, natural disasters,
etc including during work or play
8. Lifestyle
a. Ie Diet, physical exercise/ lack thereof, employment
ii.
Note: Population subgroups affected by the health problem can be affected either directly or
indirectly by the health problem
1. Example: Children are indirectly affected by the death of a parent and therefore could
be considered a sub-group affected by mortality related to a particular disease.
2. Be sure to include data which supports each of your statements on population groups / risk factors
a. Examples:
i.
“Children under the age of five are at highest risk of mortality from X disease” (Author, Year).
ii.
“Studies show that adults over the age of XX are at high risk of developing X disease” (Author,
Year).
iii.
“People who consume more than 3 servings of alcohol a day have a 35% higher risk of
developing Disease X (Author, Year).”
iv.
“Lack of access to latrines and sanitary facilities increases an individual’s risk of contracting
Disease Y (Author, Year).
v.
“Rural populations in Country X were 90% less likely than urban populations to have access to
latrines which is a major risk factor for contracting X disease” (Author, Year).
3. Use & cite at least three references which are different from the references you used in Policy Brief
Assignments #1 & #2 to find this information
IV. Social & Economic Consequences
In this paragraph you will identify at least three economic and/or social consequences of your health problem in the
country you are focusing on.
These economic and/or social consequences can be relevant to the entire country population (ie total health care costs
of this health problem nationally) or specific sub-populations (ie mental distress on adolescent girls specifically).
1. Topic sentence lists the social and/or economic consequences you will discuss in this section.
2. At least three social and/or economic consequences + supportive data
a. Include data which supports each of your statements social & economic factors
i.
Examples:
1. “In 2020, it was reported that 30% of children have become orphaned because of
DiseaseX.”
2. “In 2018, 1.2% of CountryY’s GDP was spent on antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDs
positive patients.”
→ Suggestions for this section include (but are not limited to):
●
Economic consequences such as amount of dollars lost due to the disease/condition (often reported as GDP);
poverty rates; percentage of lost productivity among workers as a direct result of the health problem;
unemployment rates as a direct result of the health problem; impacts on the workforce; etc.
●
Social consequences such as social stigma of those experiencing the health problem or individuals/families
associated with someone experiencing the health problem; health literacy levels; learning ability/school
performance/IQ; social role discrepancies (ie children having to fill the role of caretakers for older family
members and/or younger siblings), etc.
V. Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has had both direct and indirect effects on the delivery and uptake of health services and
health outcomes in every country around the world.
→ For example, the strain of COVID-19 patients needing care in ICUs has reduced the number of beds available to other
patients who need ICU care. This is an example of a direct effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the availability and
capacity of health facilities for a number of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
→ In another example, efforts to mitigate the spread of the disease – such as lockdowns, halting of public transport and
closing of health facilities – have had a devastating effect on the uptake of childhood vaccinations around the world. This
would be an example of an indirect effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on vaccine-preventable diseases including measles,
polio and childhood diarrhea.
In this paragraph you will provide a brief summary of the COVID-19 situation in your country of choice as well as at
least two effects (direct or indirect) that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on your health problem specifically.
1. First sentences offer a brief overview of the burden of disease profile for COVID-19 in your specific country.
a. For example, you might report how many cases have been diagnosed in-country? What is the current
testing capacity? What is the testing positivity rate? Have there been any notable trends in the disease?
What are the current mitigation efforts including public lockdowns, closure of health facilities and/or
care rationing measures?
b. Be sure to cite your sources and include the date(s) for which your statistics are relevant.
2. Next, report at least two effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on your health challenge. These can be
either direct or indirect effects.
a. If you cannot find specific literature for your country linking COVID-19 to your health challenge, you can
extrapolate from data available for countries from similar regions.
VI. Recommendations
In this paragraph you will offer at least three validated*, recommended strategies or interventions to address the
health problem in your focus country.
*A validated strategy or intervention is a strategy or intervention which has been used elsewhere in a similar country
context.
You might have learned of these strategies and interventions from your Public & Global Health studies, case studies,
class discussions and/or peer-reviewed or gray literature written on the health problem of your choice.
1. Topic sentence lists the recommended strategies (in abbreviated/summary form) you will describe in the
following paragraph.
2. At least three recommended, validated strategies or interventions.
→ Hint: Look back at your Risk Factors paragraph and identify strategies / interventions which directly address these Risk
Factors. At which level should these strategies / interventions be implemented (ie individual, health facility (health
center, hospital), public health ministry or department, governmental (ie law, tax structure, etc))?
→ This should be your most ‘creative’ paragraph of the Policy Brief as there are a number of possible answers and gives
you the opportunity to demonstrate the knowledge you have gained on this health topic, country and region.
VII. Reference List
1. At the end of your full Policy Brief , list all of the references you cite in-text using APA format. *Remember
Reference Lists are always listed in alphabetical order!
2. You are required to have at least 15 unique references cited in your Policy Brief and listed in the Reference List but are welcome to cite more than 15 references!
For resources on how to write references in a reference list using APA format follow this link:
https://library.uic.edu/help/article/1881/cite-in-apa-style
Final Policy Brief Assignment Rubric
80 points total
Due to Blackboard Monday February 28 @ 11:59 PM
STUDENT:
INSTRUCTOR:
Assessment Element
I.
Introductory paragraph
Points
Earned
Points
possible
10
A. Intro health issue + country
B. Mortality rate
C. Incidence and/or prevalence rate
D. Population most affected
E. Three risk factors
F. Three social & econ consequences
G. Two effects of COVID-19
H. Recommended strategies
II.
Nature & magnitude
A. Country & topic in topic sentence
B. Rank of health challenge in world or
region
C. Mortality indicator
D. Three morbidities + statistics for
each + years for each
III.
Populations affected / risk factors
A. Population most affected/ most
significant risk factor + statistic +
year
B. Three sub-populations affected /
risk factors + statistics for each +
years
IV.
Social & economic consequences
A. Topic sentence lists social / econ
consequences
10
10
10
Notes
B. Three social / economic
consequences + statistics + years
V.
Effects of COVID-19 pandemic
A. A brief report of the COVID-19
burden of disease in your country
with date of statistics included
B. 2 effects of the COVID-19
pandemic on your health challenge
VI.
Recommendations
A. Topic sentences lists recommended
strategies
B. Three recommended, validated
strategies or interventions (with
citations)
VII.
Reference list
A. APA format
B. Alpha order
C. At least 15 references (more ok)
which demonstrate a Universitylevel research effort
10
10
10
VIII.
Writing style & overall organization
+ Succinct, appropriate to Policy Brief
+ Logical reading
15
Total
85
Grading rubric for each Assessment Element:
●
I. Introductory paragraph:
○ 5 points – all required elements present
○ 2 points – some required elements present
○ 0 points – no introductory paragraph
●
Elements II. – VII.
○ 10 points – all required elements present and completed to an above-average
standard with professional level writing and editing
○ 8 points – all required elements present and completed to an average standard
with acceptable level writing and editing
○ 5 points – 1 or more required elements missing, writing not acceptable
○ 0 points – paragraph not present
●
VIII. References
○ 10 points – at least 15 references in Reference List (at least 6 are peer-reviewed);
all in correct APA format; all statements correctly cited with in-text citations
○ 5 points – fewer than 15 references in Reference List and/or fewer than 6 peerreviewed references and/or some references not in APA format; some statements
missing correct in-text citations
○ 0 points – no reference list and/or APA format not followed (in-text citations
and/or reference list)
●
IX. Writing style
○ 15 points – Overall excellent writing of professional quality
○ 8 points – Overall acceptable writing but unpolished/lack of editing
○ 0 points – Writing does not reflect concerted effort by the student

Purchase answer to see full
attachment