ntroduction to Report #2: Policy Brief
Policy briefs are essential in public health for their role in effective communication, influencing decision-makers, addressing emerging issues, advocating for evidence-based policies, and contributing to overall improvements in public health outcomes.
In this assignment you will select a health issue, program, or policy associated with social determinants of health (SDOH) and create a policy brief about it. Briefs are used by advocates at all levels of government to inform policy makers (and a general audience) about the basics of an issue or potential policy. PLEASE review the various social determinants and lesson plans and select a narrowed down topic that is of interest to you. This should not be left to a broad vague topic. For instance, if you are interested in housing quality then you might narrow down on research and specific policy related to something in housing quality (e.g., lead in homes).
These types of documents/briefs help to influence local, state and federal policy. They are utilized by organizations to communicate their stance on topics and serve as a resource of information to staff, organization members and partners, as well as policymakers. They offer an organization’s general position and recommendation on an issue or potential policy. They can help shape the development of legislative, regulatory, and other advocacy efforts.
You will need to utilize evidence-based findings to talk about your topic and through this research you might find example policies or recommended changes to existing policies that you will want to write about. You are expected to incorporate (minimum) 4 external sources that show evidence-based findings on your topic and support your policy idea. At least 2 of the sources need to come from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. None of the sources should be personal opinion pieces, blogs, etc. They needed to be grounded in credible data-driven readings. Please use the resources in the ‘APA Formatting and Citation Guide’ in the left hand menu of our class (this is listed under the ‘Resources’ subheading).
My hope is that you consider policy options and make a recommendation through a policy brief versus just discuss the issue. It is best if you approach this as if you were writing for an organization, agency, advocacy group, etc. Briefs are just that, brief, 2-3 pages. They often do include some visuals, displaying data and this is preferred in the assignment but you will not be marked down if you do not have a visual.
Materials to complete the assignment:
Your final deliverable for the assignment should be completed using the GCH 445 – Report – Policy Brief Template.docx to complete this assignment (your policy brief should be 2-3 pages total)
Read and utilize the GCH 445 – Report – Policy Brief Supplementary materials for Policy Brief Assignment .pdf
to complete the template – YOU NEED TO REVIEW THIS!
Review the
GCH 445 – Report – Policy Brief Rubric (Summer 24).pdf to learn the expectations for this assignment
Assignment Submission Details
This assignment is worth 15 points. The due date is Sunday (06/16) @ 11:59 PM. You need to submit the completed Policy Brief Template for this assignment.
