Overview: This analysis exposes you to known aspects of the public health issue and prepares you to begin thinking of some unanswered questions. If you were looking into influenza for example, you would search for existing information on who it impacts and how it spreads throughout populations. Once you have done this analysis, you are well prepared to ask questions that can spark a research study. Keep this in mind as the purpose of this activity and if you have any questions, be sure to post them to the General Questions forum.

Because this is a draft of Section I of the final project, you will notice that the critical elements and the rubric are the same as the final project, but with slight differences. Tips for tackling each critical element are included.

Prompt: Write a draft of Section I of the final project. Your short paper should address the critical elements listed below.

I. Analysis: In this section of your report, you will identify what is known and not known about your chosen issue, leading your investigation toward the development of a testable hypothesis.

a) Provide a brief overview of your selected public health issue, explaining the demographic, temporal, and/or geographic patterns of the issue in the population.

b) Describe three social and behavioral determinants strongly associated with the public health issue, citing scientific sources. For example, what are the conditions in which the affected population are born, grow, work, and age?

c) Describe three known disparities (socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, and/or geographic) associated with the health outcomes of specific populations, citing scientific sources.

d) Analyze how the identified social and behavioral determinants relate to the disparities you identified and explain your reasoning. In other words, how do the identified social and behavioral determinants relate to the known disparities and why?