HCA 415: Community and Public Health - Policy Briefs

This week’s discussion forum involves writing a Policy Brief on a topic pre-assigned to you within the discussion forum instructions.  Please take a look at the assignment early as it will take some effort to develop a well written Policy Brief. A Policy Brief consists of three primary areas of focus.  It delivers a concise summary of the particular issue, provides policy options to manage the issue, and identifies the best recommendations of those policy options.  There are two primary types of Policy Briefs.  The Advocacy Brief argues in favor of a particular course of action while the Objective Brief gives unbiased and balanced information for the policymaker to decide upon. What I would expect to see in a Policy Brief:                 Relevant Background                 The problem (why is this a Public Health issue)                 Effects of the Problem (what is happening because of this)                 Recommendations (what Policy Options can help alleviate this problem).

Imagine you are in charge of your local health department. You have found that your community has an epidemic of Botulism.

In 250 to 300 words Explain the actions you should take to reduce or stop the spread of the disease in your community. Explain what information you would include in a policy brief that you would implement to ensure that the disease incidence rate is reduced or eliminated.