2-2 Letter Assignment: Public Health Advocacy Letter Listen ReadSpeaker webReade

2-2 Letter Assignment: Public Health Advocacy Letter
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Instructions
MPH Foundational Competencies (CEPH)
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you should be able to:
Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations [CEPH.14]
MPH Foundational Public Health Knowledge (FKO)
Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:
Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health [FKO.07]
Key Resources
Website: EPA’s MyEnvironment Database
Website: U.S. House of Representatives: Find Your Representative
Website: Writing Letters to Elected Officials
Prompt
Imagine that you are the environmental health expert for the local health department. You have been tasked with writing a letter to the U.S. Congressional Representative—on behalf of the local health department. This letter will also be published as an “open letter” within local media outlets as an opinion editorial (i.e., an “Op-Ed”).
Gathering information for your letter
Determine a local environmental health concern: Before you begin drafting your public health advocacy letter, use the EPA’s MyEnvironment database to search for a specific environmental health concern within a specific location. If you live within the United States, you are encouraged to use your own community—but you may select any location using this database for the purpose of this assignment.
Identify the U.S. Congressional Representative: Identify the U.S. Congressional Representative for this community by searching the Find Your Representative site of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In this letter, you must address the following:
Summarize the environmental health concern (250 words): Break down the environmental health concern into the specific hazards at play and the quantifiable effects on population health. Discuss how this concern diminishes the health status of the population/community. Your summary should address the following questions:
Health Concern and Hazard(s): What types of health problems may be caused by your identified environmental hazards? What environmental hazards and stressors (stimuli in the environment that cause stress) are people exposed to, at what levels, and for how long?
Quantifiable Effects on Population Health: What is the chance that people will experience health problems when exposed to different levels of these hazards and environmental stressors? Is there a level below which these environmental hazards or stressors don’t pose a human health risk?
Health Status of the Population: Are some people more likely to be susceptible to environmental hazards or stressors because of factors such as age, genetics, pre-existing health conditions, ethnic practices, gender, etc.? Are some people more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards or stressors because of factors such as where they work, where they play, what they like to eat, etc.?
Frame the issue through health equity (500 words): Describe the community or population at risk. What are relevant social determinants of health? How do these determinants create a health disparity? What aspects of the system make this environmental health concern related to health inequity? Summarize why there are barriers to health equity with this particular issue.
Advocating for policies and programs (250 words): Make recommendations that may improve the health among the marginalized, vulnerable, or disadvantaged populations within the region. Please ensure your recommendations include the following:
One (1) recommendation that focuses on a health campaign (i.e., political advocacy).
One (1) recommendation that focuses on a social program (e.g., free clean water stations).
One (1) recommendation that focuses on an economic policy (i.e., funding for environmental health efforts).
Guidelines for Submission: Submit your Public Health Letter Assignment as a Word document with double-spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Your letter should be 1,000–1,250 words in length. Any sources should be cited in APA format.
Refer to the Module Two Letter Assignment Guidelines and Rubric PDF for further details.
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Rubric Name: Letter Assignment Rubric
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This table lists criteria and criteria group names in the first column. The first row lists level names and includes scores if the rubric uses a numeric scoring method. You can give feedback on each criterion by tabbing to the add feedback buttons in the table.
Criteria
Exemplary
Proficient
Needs Improvement
Not Evident
Criterion Score
Environmental Health Concern
35 points
Meets “Proficient” criteria and identification of the health problem and hazards and/or quantification of risk demonstrates an especially insightful understanding
31.5 points
Clearly identifies the health problem, the hazards, and quantifies the risk and who is most likely to be affected
24.5 points
Identifies the health problem, the hazards, and quantifies the risk and who is most likely to be affected, but identification is incomplete or contains inaccuracies
0 points
Does not identify the health problem, the hazards, and quantify the risk and who is most likely to be affected
Score of Environmental Health Concern, / 35
Health Equity
35 points
Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates an especially insightful analysis of the community at risk and/or the social determinants
31.5 points
Clearly describes the community at risk and the corresponding social determinants of health and barriers to health equity
24.5 points
Describes the community at risk and the corresponding social determinants of health and barriers to health equity, but description is incomplete or contains inaccuracies
0 points
Does not describe the community at risk and the corresponding social determinants of health and barriers to health equity
Score of Health Equity, / 35
Advocating for Policies and Programs
20 points
Makes three clear and relevant recommendations (for a health campaign, social program, and economic policy) that support each other
18 points
Makes three clear and relevant recommendations (for a health campaign, social program, and economic policy)
14 points
Makes recommendations (for a health campaign, social program, and economic policy), but recommendations are incomplete or lack relevance
0 points
Does not make recommendations (for a health campaign, social program, and economic policy)
Score of Advocating for Policies and Programs, / 20
Articulation of Response
10 points
Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format
9 points
Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization
7 points
Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas
0 points
Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas
Score of Articulation of Response, / 10
Rubric Total Score
Total
Score of Letter Assignment Rubric, / 100 Criterion score has been overridden
Overall Score
Overall Score
Points earned out of 100
91 points minimum
The overall submission earned 91 points or more. Final calculation of grades can be found in the gradebook.
Points earned out of 100
71 points minimum
The overall submission earned 71 points or more. Final calculation of grades can be found in the gradebook.
Points earned out of 100
1 point minimum
The overall submission earned 1 points or more. Final calculation of grades can be found in the gradebook.
Points earned out of 100
0 points minimum
The overall submission earned 0 points or more. Final calculation of grades can be found in the gradebook.