Topic: The social issue is Immigration, especially undocumented immigrants to the United States. Why are Immigrants not getting access to health care? This could be many things like language barriers, financial costs, lack of health insurance, or citizenship status.
You will use credible evidence to describe a social issue (mentioned up above), explain the relationship between the social issue and population health, and recommend a feasible course of action. It is not an opinion piece.
You are to synthesize sources and paraphrase content, so limit your use of direct quotations from sources.
Aim for length of 3 pages total with an additional references page, including images, graphics, and references.
Issue Brief Sections:
You may customize the section headers to be more specific to your paper. However, please be sure it is clear to me that you have included all the required sections.
1. Social Issue Statement
What is the social issue that you believe needs to be addressed?
Provide important background information about the social issue you are focusing on. Fill the reader in on the significance and scope of this issue (how long has this been a problem, how many people does it affect, etc.).
Use evidence to make your case that this issue/problem needs to be addressed. (Evidence from reputable sources like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Public Health Association, not opinion.)
Also, be sure to identify any socially-disadvantaged populations (e.g., people of color, those in poverty, women, children, etc.) that are disproportionately affected by it.
2. Connection to Population Health & Health Equity
How does this social issue affect population health and health equity?
Synthesize literature to inform the reader of ways in which the social issue/factor is linked to and affects population health/wellbeing. It is critical that you “connect the dots” between the two topics for the reader since social determinants are “upstream” from health outcomes like disease and death (downstream).
For some topics, the health impacts may be very specific. For others, there may be a range of health outcomes/disparities that are connected. Describe this and give a good idea of how much this affects population health and health equity.
3. Call to Action
What can we do about this issue to benefit our health? Recommend one action you believe could/should be taken to address the social issue that would improve population health and health equity.
These tend to fall into a category we refer to as “policy, systems, and environmental changes,” and they are often set in motion by community organizations, volunteer groups/grassroots advocates, or local/state/federal governments.
Provide sources to support your recommendation. For specific issues, there will be specific strong organizations or stakeholders to check in with.
For general health equity issues, here are some good sources: Human Impact Partners (https://humanimpact.org/), the County Health Rankings & Roadmap “What Works for Health” resources (https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/take-action-to-improve-health/what-works-for-health ), or the American Public Health Association’s policy statement database (https://www.apha.org/Policies-and-Advocacy/Public-Health-Policy-Statements ). Has this particular action been used successfully in other countries or other places in the U.S.?
Remember what the Diderichsen model says about how disparities occur and consider whether your recommendation will reduce these effects.
4. Key Takeaways
What are the main points you want the reader to remember from your brief? In a few brief sentences or bullet points, summarize the main messages of your issue brief. If your reader only read these key takeaways, would they know the main points of the paper?
There should be at least one bullet each from each of the three sections above (Social Issue, Health Connection, Call to Action). This is not the place for any new information.
5. References
Build your brief using a minimum of 4 credible information sources.
