Assignment

Public health policy is the product of blending information from scientific evidence with compromise as a result of political and constitutional concerns. The success of public health policy depends on the quality of the policy that is formulated as well as how it is implemented. Students will write a scholarly paper, in APA format, evaluating the political challenges regarding a specific public health policy in the United States.

Select one of the following topics:

• U.S. Healthcare Reform

• Healthcare Worker Shortage

• Obesity in Children

• Medicinal Marijuana

• Cloning & Stem Cell Research

• End of Life Issues

The paper should be in the range of 8 pages (not including cover page or reference page) and written in APA format. Please start each section of your paper by stating the question you are addressing. All sources used in your research must be included in a bibliography at the end of the paper, and all citations should be appropriately noted. The analyses should include all of the following sections: •The history of the policy (why the problem was identified as worthy of a policy solution and how the policy was formulated).

• Were there other alternatives?

• Was there a trade-off between science and politics?

• Assess the impact or success of the policy.

• How is it implemented?

• Is the policy working to solve the public health problem and why is it (not) successful?

• What, if anything, could be done to improve the policy?