The scope of public health services is enormous, encompassing such services as food and drug safety, disease surveillance, emergency response, disease prevention, and health education and promotion. For this Assignment, you will select and research one of the key federal public health agencies discussed throughout Units 6, 7, and 8. Then you will answer some important questions about the agency you have selected in a well-developed research paper.

Unit outcomes addressed in this Assignment:

Identify the role that the FDA has in monitoring food safety.

Describe the role of the FDA in the marketing of drugs and postmarket monitoring.

Discuss how the FDA works with other public health agencies in improving health outcomes.

Course outcome(s) assessed in this Assignment:

PU120-4: Describe how public health agencies work together on local, state, federal and global levels to improve health outcomes.

GEL-1.02: Demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard English.

Instructions

Most people have heard of the CDC and the FDA, but very few can explain everything these agencies do on a daily basis to keep Americans healthy and safe. Moreover, many Americans have never heard of the other key federal public health agencies, such as the NIH and HRSA, that play a major role in in the public health system today.

The scope of public health services is enormous, encompassing such services as food and drug safety, disease surveillance, emergency response, disease prevention, and health education and promotion to name a few. 

For this written Assignment, you will select one of the key federal public health agencies that were discussed throughout Unit 7 (see Table 12-2: “Key Federal Health Agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services” in the course textbook for a brief overview of each of these health agencies), including:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/
• Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/
• Health Resources and Services Administration. Retrieved from http://www.hrsa.gov/index.html
• Indian Health Services. Retrieved from http://www.ihs.gov/
• National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nih.gov/
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/

After providing a brief overview of the public health agency you have selected, you will research one specific public health service that the federal public health agency provides and write a critical analysis essay that explains the following:

• A description of the service you chose (for example, the FDA completes food inspection of imported foods);
• A list of the steps or protocols used to carry out the chosen service;
• A description of the core function(s) of public health, mandated by the IOM, under which this service falls;
• An explanation of which of the 10 essential public health services this program fulfills;
• A discussion of how this service achieves the desired health outcomes; and
• A discussion of the collaboration efforts with local, state and if applicable, global health organizations.

Proposed Outline of Unit 8 Written Assignment

1. Introduction (1 paragraph)
2. Highlight 3–5 main points about your topic that will be developed further in the body of the paper.
3. Provide a clear and concise thesis statement, or purpose of the paper (generally 1 sentence but no more than 2).
4. Federal Public health Agency Selected
5. Brief overview of the public health agency and the services it provides
6. Short discussion of the agency’s mission and goals
7. Selected Service
8. Overview of the service

• Details about the service (examples include food safety, drug safety, disease prevention, mental health crisis intervention, training for health research).
• Steps or protocols used in carrying out this service.

1. The core function(s) of public health, mandated by the IOM, under which this service falls.
2. Which of the 10 essential public health services this program fulfills.
3. How this service achieves the desired health outcomes and improves health outcomes.
4. The collaborating efforts with local, state and if applicable, global health organizations.
5. Conclusion (1 paragraph)
6. No new information should be presented
7. Briefly wrap up the main points presented in the body of the paper
8. Reference page(s)

Requirements

• The critical analysis essay should be at least 900 words in length. The critical analysis essay should be properly formatted using APA 6th Edition guidelines, which includes double-spaced 12 point Times New Roman font, 1” margins, a title page, and applicable headers.
• Include a list of scholarly peer-reviewed sources using APA 6th ed. guidelines for intext and reference citation style.
• The critical analysis essay should have a sustained viewpoint, be original and insightful, and demonstrate the use of Standard American English.

Please be sure to utilize the resources available in Academic Tools to assist you with meeting APA expectations for written Assignments.

Submitting Your Work

For directions on how to submit your work and review your graded Assignments, refer to the Dropbox Guide found on the Academic Tools tab. Make sure that you save a copy of your submitted work.

Grading Criteria

Be sure to review the grading rubric for this Assignment in the Course Resources.

Resources: Academic Success Center

APA title page tutorial:

APA How to insert a header (tutorial): http://www.screencast.com/t/SzdTts7wl9d

APA Citations (tutorial):

https://campus2.purdueglobal.edu/media/apa-demystified-in-5-minutes

APA References (tutorial):

https://campus2.purdueglobal.edu/media/apa-reference-page-format