explore a public health issue in depth and analyze various components, including a program or intervention that has been designed in order to improve or eradicate the health issue.

 The field of public health is constantly faced with serious issues affecting the health of populations, from chronic diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, to communicable diseases, such as influenza and HIV. When working in the public health field, it is crucial for practitioners to be able to critically analyze an issue and understand the complex factors that drive health behaviors. Basic knowledge of public health principles assists in analyzing an issue and informs effective solutions. For your final project, you will select a public health issue for analysis. The topic must be approved by the instructor. This analysis will give you the opportunity to explore a public health issue in depth and analyze various components, including a program or intervention that has been designed in order to improve or eradicate the health issue. Information should come from credible sources; in today’s information-rich age, it can be sometimes be difficult to distinguish between credible and non-credible sources. This project will give you an opportunity to perform research and analyze information for its credibility—a skill that is critically needed in modern public health practice and one that you will use throughout your future MSPH program courses. The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Seven. The final submission will be due in Module Nine. This assessment addresses your mastery with regard to the following course outcomes:  Evaluate public health for its historical and current significance in protecting and promoting individual, community, and population health  Analyze the role of the determinants of health in both the onset of and solution to public health problems  Assess the impact of social and behavioral factors on individual and population health behaviors for informing design of effective public health programs  Analyze the contributions of public health agencies, positions, and roles in effectively delivering public health’s core functions and essential services  Assess the extent to which public health programs utilize fundamental public health principles and theories in promoting individual and population health  Assess the impact of local, national, or international programs or interventions on public health issues Prompt Your public health issue analysis paper will allow you to gain a deeper understanding of your selected public health issue, including why it has become a public health issue and its significance in the public health landscape. This project will also provide you the opportunity to hone your research skills for future use throughout the program