Question:

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.

Tip: Look back to your assignments in Modules One and Two to inform this section. The resources you gathered in Module Two can be cited here.

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?

Tip: Refer to the discussion for Module Three as well as the resources you collected in Module Two. You may find that you need to do a bit more looking for this piece if your resources from that activity do not address social and behavioral determinants.

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

Tip: A disparity is a gap or inequality between two populations. What disparities exist for specific populations impacted by your public health issue? For example, socioeconomic disparities might include poverty, or lack of/quality of education.

Demographic and cultural disparities could include ethnicity and gender and geographic disparities have to do with where you are looking. You will notice that there are not always distinct lines between each category of disparity types; this is fine.

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?

Tip: What is the relationship between determinants and disparities? Based on their definitions (see module resources) and the ones you have identified here, does one cause the other?

Guidelines for Submission: Your paper must be submitted as a 2- to 3-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and at least four scientific sources cited in APA style.

Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions